Open OpenRate's markets tab and every row shows a 'spread' column. Understanding it is the difference between paying retail and paying wholesale on P2P.
The definition
Spread = (best sell price − best buy price) ÷ best buy price × 100. On USDT/INR, the typical spread sits between 0.3% and 1.0%. During peak Indian hours (9 AM - 11 PM IST), spreads tighten to ~0.3-0.5%; overnight they widen to 0.8-1.5% as merchants protect themselves against thin volume.
Why spread matters to you
If you're a one-shot buyer, spread is just the visible cost of execution. If you're trading both directions (e.g., buying USDT to send abroad, then receiving USDT and selling), the spread is paid twice — your round-trip cost is roughly 2× the spread.
Arbitrage windows open when the spread on one venue exceeds 0.5% AND another venue is tighter. Buy cheap on the wide one, sell rich on the tight one. In practice the windows are small (10-30 paise on a ₹91 USDT) and require near-instant execution.
Key takeaways
- Spread = (best sell − best buy) / best buy × 100; usually 0.3-1.0% on USDT/INR.
- Tight during Indian market hours, wide overnight.
- Round-trip costs you 2× spread; arbitrage opportunities open above ~0.5%.
