Crypto Market Making: How It Works and How to Make a Profit
A crypto market maker is a financial firm specializing in services connected with liquidity provision to different assets on crypto exchanges. They are active market participants who ensure stable trade flow and a healthy environment for other traders and investors. In this article, we will discuss crypto market-making services and profit-making.
The Essence of Market Making in Crypto
The job of a market maker is to fulfill buy and sell orders that can’t be completed because of the absence of organic counterparties. For example, if a trader wants to sell tokens worth $5,000, they look for another market participant willing to buy those tokens for $5,000 at a given time. If there is no buyer, its role is taken by a market maker. If the order is too big for one market maker to handle, several market makers can fill it jointly.
A good crypto market-making strategy involves creating a liquid order book and tight bid-ask spread (the difference between buying and selling price) for an asset. In such conditions, traders will find the market liquid and efficient to participate in.
The market maker’s profit is made of bid-ask spreads collected during the day. They strive to buy assets at a price lower than the market price and sell them higher than the market price. The spread should not be too wide, for wide spreads deter other traders and reduce trading volume. On the contrary, a tight spread means more active trading, higher volume, and thus, bigger profit for a market maker.
What Affects the Profit of Market Makers in Crypto?
Here are some factors affecting a crypto market maker’s profit:
- Spread size. As we mentioned above, a tighter spread can lead to more profitable trades.
- Higher volatility in the crypto market can create more trading opportunities but also increase the risk of price fluctuations, impacting potential profits.
- Trading volume. The overall volume of trades executed by the market maker influences profitability. Higher trading volumes can lead to increased profits, especially when the spread is favorable.
- Market conditions. The general market conditions, including trends, liquidity, and order book depth, play a role in a market maker’s ability to execute profitable trades.
- Costs and fees. Transaction costs, including trading fees and other operational expenses, reduce a market maker’s net profit. However, most crypto platforms charge low fees from makers.
Wrap Up
Crypto market making is essential for building efficient and active markets for digital assets. Market makers’ profits depend on many factors, such as current market trends, spread size, volume, fees, etc. So they should be able to adjust their strategies to emerging market changes to ensure sustained profitability.
