Chat with us
Checklist

The crypto market maker checklist

6 min read

Market making has a reputation problem, and it is largely earned: the category is opaque, the pricing is inconsistent, and the worst providers rely on token teams not knowing what to ask. You do not need trading expertise to evaluate one well. You need a short list of questions and the discipline to treat a vague answer as an answer. Here is the list.

Custody and access

  • Where do my tokens sit while this runs, and in whose name is that account?
  • What permissions does the connection have, specifically? Trading only, or can it withdraw?
  • If I want everything to stop right now, what do I do and how long does it take?

A good answer here is specific and boring: your funds stay in your exchange account, the API key has trading enabled and withdrawals disabled, and you can revoke the key yourself at any time. If the answer involves transferring tokens to someone else's wallet, that is not automatically wrong, but it changes the risk profile entirely and should be priced accordingly.

Control and configuration

  • Which parameters do I set, and which are decided for me?
  • What is the maximum amount of my token this can accumulate or sell in a day?
  • What happens automatically when volatility spikes?

You should be able to name your spread, your depth, your maximum order size, and your inventory ceiling. If a provider cannot tell you the hard limits on their own system, they do not have hard limits.

Visibility and reporting

  • Can I see the individual orders, or only a monthly summary?
  • Can I verify the activity independently, through the exchange or on-chain?
  • Is there an audit trail of who changed which setting, and when?
Worth remembering
Independent verifiability is the single best filter. If the only record of what happened comes from the provider, you are trusting rather than checking.

Pricing, in full

  • What is the recurring fee, and what is the minimum term?
  • Is any part of the compensation denominated in my token, including loans, options, or warrants?
  • How much working capital do I need to supply for this to function at the depth we discussed?

That last question is the one teams skip. A quoting strategy needs inventory on both sides of the pair, and that requirement usually dwarfs the subscription or retainer. Get the number before you sign anything, not after.

The promises nobody should make

Some answers should end the conversation. Treat any of the following as disqualifying:

  • A guaranteed price, price floor, or price target.
  • A guaranteed 24-hour volume figure, or a guaranteed ranking on an aggregator.
  • A promise of a listing, or of a listing team's decision.

Questions this raises

It varies enormously by model. Software subscriptions typically run in the hundreds of dollars per month; trading desks typically charge four to five figures per month plus compensation in your token. Neither number means much without also knowing the working capital required, so compare total committed cost rather than headline fees.
On a centralized exchange, look at your own account's order history and the visible book: you should see two-sided quotes at the spread you configured. On-chain, every transaction is publicly verifiable by wallet address. If you cannot check independently, treat the reporting as a claim rather than a fact.
No, and any provider offering it is either misunderstanding the product or misrepresenting it. Market making improves how a market functions: spread, depth, and the ability to trade without excessive slippage. It does not and cannot control the price, which is set by supply and demand.

For the fundamentals, read the guide to crypto market making, or see how a bot runs on a specific exchange or chain.

Read next

Run your own market maker bot

Your keys, your limits, your inventory. Live in about 30 minutes, or talk to our team first.