Information Arbitrage
Information (Signal) is only as good as your capability to act on insights with maximum effectiveness.
The Formula
Value Captured = (Information Advantage) × (Speed of Execution) × (Accuracy of Action)
Three variables. Miss any one, capture nothing.
| Variable | What It Requires | Competitive Moat |
|---|---|---|
| Information | Access to signal others lack | Data sources, relationships, sensors |
| Speed | Latency between insight and action | Infrastructure, automation, proximity |
| Accuracy | Correct interpretation and execution | Algorithms, models, domain expertise |
The Same Pattern, Different Infrastructure
Information arbitrage appears wherever routing decisions exist:
| Domain | Information Advantage | Speed Advantage | Accuracy Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | Market data feeds | Co-location, HFT | Pricing models |
| Crypto | Mempool visibility | Gas optimization | MEV algorithms |
| Telecom | Reference data quality | Switch latency | Routing algorithms |
| DePIN | Edge telemetry | Local compute | AI inference |
The game is identical. The infrastructure differs.
Why This Principle Matters Now
AI collapses the accuracy advantage. Edge compute collapses the speed advantage. What remains scarce?
Information sources you control.
This is why:
- DePIN operators who deploy sensors own unique data streams
- Protocols with proprietary oracles capture routing value
- Communities with local knowledge outperform distant algorithms
See Telco MEV for how carriers extracted this value for decades, and Crypto MEV for the blockchain equivalent.