BitMEX, a crypto derivatives exchange, allows traders and investors to purchase futures and perpetual Swap contracts on a variety of cryptocurrencies.
The Seychelles-based crypto trading platform, crypto-only, was founded in 2014. It is a leader in crypto derivatives trading and is well-known for its deep liquidity and professional trading platform.
Professional and experienced traders who are looking for crypto derivatives trading strategies can find the information they need on BitMEX.
BitMEX Cryptocurrencies
BitMEX only supports Bitcoin deposits; BTC and other top cryptocurrency are supported by this platform. Trades can be made using different indices on the platform. USD and other fiat deposits cannot be supported. The supported cryptos are listed below.
- Cardano (ADA)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- EOS Token (EOS)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Ripple (XRP)
Trading Experience
BitMEX is a well-known platform that offers institutional-grade trading for experienced users.
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Cryptocurrency assets are volatile in nature. Buy and trade at your own risk.
73% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Trading with financial instruments carries high level of risks that is not suitable for all investors. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisor to ensure you understand the risks involved.
Trading with financial instruments carries high level of risks that is not suitable for all investors. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisor to ensure you understand the risks involved.
Although beginners might struggle to use the platform’s professional layout, experienced traders will find all the features necessary to trade a variety of crypto derivatives strategies.
The best features of the trading platform include:
- Trade bitcoin with 100x leverage
- Market data and execution at low latency
- State-of the-art pricing APIs and crypto trading
- You have the option to deposit idle funds into BitMEX Earn and receive up to 10% APR
BitMEX Fees
When choosing a cryptocurrency trading platform, it is important to consider the fees involved in trading. This is especially true if you trade larger positions or on futures exchanges where fees are charged on positions that are larger than your margin.
BitMEX works with a maker-taker model, so trading fees depend on the type order (e.g. Futures and contracts, as well as the cryptocurrency coin. BitMEX will pay 0.025% to the maker trader and 0.075% to the taker for placing a traditional BTC futures order. This compensation is small. BitMEX’s trading fees are comparable to those on platforms like FTX, Bingbon, and BaseFEX.
High volume traders get discounted price taker fees, as shown in the table below:
| Tier | ADV (30 Days) (USD) | Taker Fee |
| 0 | <5,000,000 | 0.050% |
| B | >=5,000,000 | 0.040% |
| M | >=10,000,000 | 0.035% |
| E | >=25,000,000 | 0.030% |
| X | >=50,000,000 | 0.025% |
BitMEX does not charge withdrawal fees or deposit fees for Bitcoin. Withdrawals are subject to Bitcoin network fees.
Deposits of Tether USD are free. BitMEX charges USDT withdrawal fees. These fees vary depending on Ethereum network fees.
BitMEX Order Types
BitMEX allows traders to place limit orders, such as stop loss and take profit, using the BitMEX ordering system
- Limit Order (an order will be fulfilled only if the price specified is met).
- Market Order (an order placed at the current market price).
- Stop Limit Order (an order is fulfilled once the Stop Price has been triggered).
- Stop Market Order (an order that isn’t visible in the order books until the market reaches a specific price).
- Trailing Stop Order (an order with a trailing value and which is used to trigger market orders).
- Take Profit Limit Order (a purchase is considered fulfilled when the take-profit price specified is met).
- If the specified take-profit at market price is reached, then an order is considered a Take Profit Market Order.
Features
BitMEX Calculator
BitMEX offers a profit-and-loss calculator that will show traders exactly what the risks are. This tool can only be used for Bitcoin trades. This calculator is useful for withdrawing Bitcoin from platforms that offer leveraged contracts to traders.
The BitMEX calculator can be used to check:
- Exit price is higher than entry price
- The entry price is less than the exit price
- Low exit price for a short position
Application Programming Interface
BitMEX offers powerful trading features through its Application Programming Interface (API). This REST API is packed with features and aligns security information for high leverage trades.
It’s a powerful streaming tool that makes use of WebSocket API to analyze and sort markets based on user data. It is a top-notch trading platform for crypto traders thanks to its API functions.
Bot
BitMEX uses an automated trading platform similar to HamsterBot. This trading bot was developed using Python programming. BitMEX bot allows traders to instantly and continuously quote in two-sided markets.
BitMEX Market Maker is a trading bot that supports many API Keys. This API Key can be used to create new trading plans or strategies and provide an excellent starting point.
Security
BitMEX has a unique multi-signature deposit/withdrawal system. Users have multi-signature BitMEX addresses. Asset storage, including Bitcoin private keys, is kept offline. An attacker could not steal funds if the entire system was compromised, which includes trading engines, web servers and databases. Deep cold storage is used to store the bulk of funds and no private keys are stored on any cloud server.
To ensure that all deposit addresses sent to BitMEX are valid, an external service verifies them. The system will immediately shut down if the public keys are not compatible and trading will be halted.
Customer Service
BitMEX customer service can be reached via a ticket system. Navigate to the left menu, and click on “Contact” to submit a ticket regarding technical issues. The contact box will open. To send the customer service team a message, simply enter your email address and subject. BitMEX offers multilingual customer service for English, Chinese, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Korean, and Japanese.
Another option is to look through the articles and guides in the Knowledge Base section. This covers general trading FAQs and deposits & withdrawals as well as ID verification and security.
Pro and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| High-Security Levels | Bitcoin is the only way to deposit and withdraw money. |
| Margin trading up to x100 | This is not the right tool for beginners. |
| Futures and other derivatives available |
Conclusion
BitMEX was the first platform to trade Bitcoin derivatives in the early days. The exchange allowed traders to take up to 100x leveraged bitcoin positions and provided a professional crypto-to-crypto trading experience.
It has been criticized for not being in compliance with regulatory requirements and the founders are facing criminal charges in the U.S. under the Bank Secrecy Act. BitMEX is still a top-rated crypto derivatives exchange and institutional-grade trading platform.
BitMEX is not recommended for novice investors. Its sophisticated trading platform and advanced financial products will overwhelm new crypto buyers.
