Strategy 06
Spot Trading
Execution as a source of return.
Spot markets for digital assets are split across dozens of centralized exchanges, decentralized venues, and OTC desks that do not share an order book. The same asset trades at different prices, in different depth, with different settlement mechanics, at the same moment. Wesvel treats that fragmentation as the opportunity.
Counterparties and venues in the spot book
Who we execute with
A spot book is only as good as the counterparties it can face and the data it measures itself against. Wesvel executes blocks bilaterally with Wintermute and FalconX, who quote against each other on every request, runs its public-venue rotation and fiat settlement through Kraken, and prices every trade against Tiingo’s independent consolidated feed. Each relationship is diligenced like any venue and carries its own limit.
Principal liquidity provider
Wintermute
What they do
One of the largest algorithmic market makers in digital assets, quoting two-way prices across public venues and bilaterally over the counter, in the major assets and deep into the long tail.
Prime broker and OTC liquidity
FalconX
What they do
An institutional digital asset prime broker: bilateral spot and derivatives liquidity, credit and financing, and settlement across venues, built for funds and trading firms rather than retail.
Spot exchange and banking partner
Kraken
What they do
One of the longest-operating regulated spot exchanges, with deep order books in the major assets and fiat pairs, institutional custody and, through its Wyoming-chartered bank, direct access to fiat rails.
Market data
Tiingo
What they do
An institutional market data provider covering real-time and historical crypto prices across exchanges alongside traditional asset and reference data, delivered through a single API.
Cross-venue arbitrage
When a price gap between two venues exceeds the cost of closing it (fees, transfer time, and inventory risk), the book buys on one side and sells on the other. Inventory is pre-positioned across venues so that most trades settle from local balances rather than waiting on chain transfers, which is where the majority of “free” arbitrage actually fails.
Smart order routing
Larger orders are split across venues and over time by an execution layer that reads live depth, not quoted top-of-book. The objective is measured slippage against an arrival price, with routing decisions logged for post-trade review. Human traders set participation limits; systems work within them.
OTC block execution
Size that would move a public order book is executed bilaterally with principal liquidity providers under negotiated terms. Wesvel faces counterparties it has diligenced, settles on a delivery-versus-payment basis wherever the counterparty supports it, and never leaves settled assets at the desk.
Decentralized venues
Automated market makers and on-chain order books are treated as venues like any other, with the addition of gas, MEV, and finality risk. Trades are routed through private transaction relays where available, and the strategy only touches pools whose contracts have passed protocol diligence.
Inventory and settlement
Working balances held on exchanges are the strategy’s largest exposure and are sized per venue. Everything above the working float is swept to segregated custody on a schedule. Fiat legs settle through regulated banking partners; stablecoin legs are held in issuers with published attestations.
Go deeper
Inside Spot Trading
- 01Cross-Venue ArbitrageBuying and selling the same asset on two venues at once, and why pre-positioned inventory is what makes it work.
- 02Smart Order RoutingSplitting large orders across venues and time against live depth, and reviewing every execution against arrival price.
- 03OTC Block ExecutionExecuting large trades bilaterally with principal liquidity providers, and settling without leaving assets at the desk.
- 04Decentralized VenuesTrading on automated market makers and on-chain order books, gas, MEV, finality and contract risk in place of exchange risk.
- 05Inventory and SettlementManaging working balances across venues, sweeping to custody, and settling fiat and stablecoin legs through regulated partners.