BitMEX Review

Usually, Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance are the names that come up when you are searching for a cryptocurrency trading partner. However, in the last few years, BitMEX has started to gain considerable traction with daily trading volumes exceeding USD 2 billion consistently.

What’s Different about BitMEX?

You should keep in mind that BitMEX is not your regular cryptocurrency exchange. The service exclusively deals in derivative financial instruments. It enables traders to trade top cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin with leverages going as high as 100x.

In contrast to other cryptocurrency exchanges, BitMEX only accepts Bitcoin. Currently, BitMEX is unregulated in all global jurisdictions.

How to Sign Up on BitMEX

The first step is quite conventional. You’ve to register yourself as a trader on the website using a valid email address which BitMEX will use to verify your registration. You need to be 18 years old and there are no limits on trading.

BitMEX doesn’t allow US traders on its platforms and uses IP verification check to ensure the trader attempting to sign up is not a US resident. While you can always use VPN to bypass the verification process, it’s not recommended.

How to Buy on BitMEX and the Supported Payment Methods

• Once you have signed up, you need to assess the security of your account and deposit funds. Go to the My Account tab and set up 2FA or two-factor authentication. Use Google Authenticator to get a unique code that’s associated with your account.

• After you’ve secured your account, go to the Deposit page and deposit your initial funds in Bitcoin. There’s no deposit fee, however, the service will charge you a network fee depending on the transaction size. Note that the deposits can only be in Bitcoin. If you send any other cryptocurrency, your coins will be lost.

• Now you’re ready to place a trade. Go to the trading page and select from the available tokens. Specify the bid value, order quantity and the total value of both long and short orders in US dollars.

• You can also use margin trading to earn higher profits, however, the risk is also higher. Note that BitMEX applies a fee on the whole leveraged position so using 100x leverage can cost you quite a bit.

The only supported payment method on BitMEX is Bitcoin. DO NOT use any other altcoin or digital asset for depositing funds. They will be lost.

BitMEX Trading Fees & Charges

For conventional trades, BitMEX offers a simple fee structure which includes initial margin, maintenance, maker and taker fee and settlement fee. There are additional charges for hidden orders until your whole order volume is executed.

Keep in mind that while there are no charges on withdrawals and deposits, the network fee is dependent on the blockchain load.

How Secure is BitMEX?

Before selecting any cryptocurrency exchange, it’s crucial to review its security measures and historical performance in terms of online safety. Here are the measures that BitMEX takes to strengthen its digital security.

Two-factor authentication – 2FA provides the additional safety cushion to ensure the right person has the access to your account. Every time you log in to your account, you have to enter a unique PIN that’s sent to your phone.

Cold Storage – BitMEX claims that most of the cryptocurrency is stored in cold storage. It means that the service uses offline hardware wallets to store your digital assets.

Multi-Signature Protocol – In order to get the funds, BitMEX has put a multi-signature protocol in place which requires at least 2 of the 3 individuals who have the wallet access to verify the transaction.

Email Notifications – Apart from the above measures, BitMEX keeps you in the loop through email for all your account activity. If there’s something you don’t recognize, you can immediately take action.

Conclusion