What is BitMEX?

BitMEX stands for Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange. It is a Bitcoin trading platform that offers API and supporting tools to traders. BitMEX is operated by HDR Global Trading Limited. Verified users of the BitMEX platform can easily buy Bitcoin or USDT using around 16 different supported fiat currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, and more with Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, and even cash deposits depending on the fiat currency they choose to make the digital currency purchases with. It’s important to note that BitMEX does not directly process fiat to cryptocurrency conversions. These are handled by their fiat gateway partners such as Banxa. 

The BitMEX platform offers a variety of contract types. All contracts on BitMEX are bought and paid out in Bitcoin. Most people might not realise but BitMEX has been innovative from the start and that is why it has continued to grow tremendously. Since its launch back in 2014, the exchange has reached some admirable heights but not without its fair share of hurdles as well. That’s not uncommon when it comes to fast-scaling startups that transition to industry leaders with fast-growth in user acquisition, market share and in BitMEX’s case especially, large transaction / trading volumes. It pioneered the ‘Perpetual Contract’ which is essentially a high leverage contract that never expires. BitMEX has always relied on providing the market with niche, unique and superior products. It offers traders futures contracts that have inverse, quanto, and linear payouts.

BitMEX offers leverage determined by the Initial Margin and Maintenance Margin levels on all of its products. The amount of leverage offered varies from product to product. BitMEX offers up to 100x leverage on its Perpetual Bitcoin / USD Perpetual Contract.

BitMEX EARN 

BitMEX EARN was recently introduced as a new product line by BitMEX. It gives investors who hodl their crypto assets an opportunity to earn high returns. Users need to have an available balance in their exchange wallet in order to earn interest on Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) deposits. Once a user subscribes to the EARN program, the amount will be deducted from the available balance.

Once matured, the redemption amount is automatically transferred to the available balance in the user’s wallet. The APR offered is an indicative number that is calculated by simply taking the difference between the redemption amount and subscription amount, annualised by using the time difference between maturity date and the start date which makes the APR only an estimate. The actual redemption amount that a user will receive at maturity is actually determined and fixed at purchase. What’s encouraging about BitMEX’s EARN product is that it is backed by the BitMEX Insurance Fund. 

Fees on BitMEX

• For every completed trade BitMEX charges a fee. BitMEX operates a standard trading fee structure across all their products. This makes things simpler. Their maker rebate is 0.01%, and the Taker Fee is 0.05%. High-volume traders are offered discounted Taker Fees. 

• You can see the full fee structure here including fees for Perpetual Contracts, Traditional Futures, Quanto Futures and other fees. 
• No fees are charged on Bitcoin or USDT deposits.
• No fees are charged on Bitcoin withdrawals. When a user decides to withdraw funds, the minimum Bitcoin Network fee is set dynamically based on blockchain load. Users can always confirm the network fees.
• There is a fee for USDT withdrawals. 

Did you know?

• BitMEX has some impressive partnerships including a multi-year partnership with popular football club AC Milan. BitMEX is the football club’s first-ever official sleeve partner. It is now also an official cryptocurrency trading partner of the Rossoneri – which stands for ‘Red and Blacks’ because of AC Milan’s distinctive red-and-black striped jerseys. The sponsorship extends to both the men’s and women’s teams and AQM which is the eSports team.

• BitMEX through its Open Open Source Developer Grant Program offers grants to Bitcoin developers.

What to look forward from BitMEX in 2022

BMEX token launch and airdrop 

• BitMEX is launching an ecosystem token with the ticker BMEX in the early part of this year. The token’s utility will include trading fee discounts, yield on EARN, perks on BitMEX Academy, etc. 
• BitMEX has designed a two-phase launch. Phase 1 will involve an airdrop to new and existing users of BitMEX. To be eligible, users need to trade with BitMEX until the end of March 2022 in order to be airdropped BMEX according to their trading volume. 
• Users will be able to earn up to 25% of their monthly trading fees in BMEX tokens. This means that the more a user trades, the more BMEX they’d be eligible for. The airdrops are capped at 50,000 BMEX per user, per month. 
• Also when a user signs up for a BitMEX account and completes KYC, they will receive 5 BMEX and 10 USDT. The offer is limited to the first 50,000 new users.
• Users can also refer 3 friends i.e. new or existing and will be rewarded with BMEX. If a user refers three new users who complete KYC, they will effectively receive 15 BMEX.
• The airdrop will commence on February 1st and cannot be withdrawn until the beginning of the second phase. 
• BitMEX will be introducing more contests, giveaways, and airdrops throughout the first phase in order to maximise on how many BMEX they can potentially collect. 
• The second phase will involve the token being made available for trading. This will happen at the same time BitMEX launches spot trading. The token is expected to be tradeable on BitMEX in Q2 of this year.

BitMEX Academy

• BitMEX is introducing a fresh way for users to learn about digital assets. BitMEX Academy will be launching in 2022 and users can expect a multimedia learning platform that features some of the most respected traders in the space sharing their expertise and know-how. You can subscribe now so you can be alerted when the academy launches. 

Want to learn more? Check out the Crypto Trader Digest and for research enthusiasts, you can check out BitMEX research and get the BitMEX Exchange Guide. 

Don’t forget to join the official BitMEX Telegram and Discord. 

You can also follow BitMEX on Twitter, IG, Reddit, and YouTube.