when an asset is tradable in several markets prices for that asset may not always be the same 
examples of arbitrageur playslet s look at an example of the work of an arbitrageur suppose the stock of company x is trading at 20 on the new york stock exchange nyse while at the same time it is trading for the equivalent of 20 05 on the london stock exchange lse a trader can buy the stock on the nyse and immediately sell the same shares on the lse earning a total profit of 5 cents per share less any trading costs the trader exploits the arbitrage opportunity until the specialists on the nyse run out of inventory of company x s stock or until the nyse or lse adjust their prices to wipe out the opportunity the rise of cryptocurrencies offered another opportunity for arbitrageurs as the price of bitcoin reached records several opportunities to exploit price discrepancies between multiple exchanges around the world presented themselves for example bitcoin traded at a premium at cryptocurrency exchanges in south korea compared with those in the u s the price difference also known as the kimchi premium was mainly because of the high demand for crypto in these regions crypto traders profited by arbitraging the price difference between the two locations in real time 9the impact of arbitragearbitrageurs have a role in the smooth functioning of the capital markets as their efforts in exploiting price inefficiencies keep prices more accurate than they otherwise would be when arbitrageurs buy an asset in cheaper markets and sell the same asset in more expensive markets their actions generally lead to the same price being offered in both this results in equal prices across all markets in short arbitrageurs help resolve inefficiencies in pricing and add liquidity to the market 