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BitMEX Exchange: A Complete Guide

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BitMEX

There’s one cryptocurrency exchange that aims to help investors do just that, and it goes by the name of BitMEX. Short for Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, BitMEX is a very powerful trading platform/digital currency exchange platform that offers investors access to various global markets using only Bitcoin.

With a daily trading volume of over 35,000 BTC and over 540,000 accesses monthly and a trading history of over $34 billion worth of Bitcoin since its launch, BitMEX is easily one of the largest Bitcoin trading platforms currently in operation.

The platform is renowned for allowing its users to perform complex financial operations such as trading with leverage. Additionally, BitMEX offers a wide assortment of contracts such as Derivates, Futures, and Prediction contracts, and it’s the only platform to offer a so-called “Perpetual P2P Swap.”

Perpetual swaps are very similar to futures, but there’s no associated expiry date and involved  no settlement. At the current time, BitMEX comes with support for 3 Bitcoin markets: Bitcoin/USD (XBT), Bitcoin/CNY (XBX), and Bitcoin/JPY (XBJ).

Bitmex Exchange Features
Features of the Bitmex Exchange

Leverage and Margin Trading on BitMEX

Traders are provided with the option to leverage their position on the platform. This means that traders can place orders that are actually larger than the existing balance. This method of trading usually results in a higher profit, and it’s called “Margin Trading.” There are two types of margin trading associated with BitMEX: cross-margin and isolated.

The first type is somewhat risky for traders as it allows them to use all the money from their wallets to hold their position. The latter is slightly safer as it allows traders to select a specific amount of money from their wallets that should be used to hold their position after an order has been issued.

The platform allows users to set leverage of 1:100 in regards to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. To put it into perspective, most other exchanges rarely exceed the 1:20 ratio.

How to get started with BitMEX

To start trading, you will need to create an account on BitMEX. You are required to register on the website by entering your email, your name, the country of residence, a password of your choosing, by filling in the CAPTCHA, and by accepting the Terms of Service. Make sure to provide a genuine email address, and you will need to verify the account before using it.

Even though there are no trading limits, it’s worth pointing out that BitMEX doesn’t allow US-based traders. Another aspect that is worth highlighting is the fact that there is no need for KYC/AML document submission.

Securing your account

Once your account has been created, make sure you keep your account safe by securing it. Make sure you use the provided Two-Factor Authentication engine for both exchange and email account. Needless to say that the password should be strong, at least 20 character-long, with a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and characters.

BitMEX Trading Dashboard – Explained

BitMEX provides its users with a user-friendly dashboard that helps anyone get the most out of the trading experience. To make things as easier as possible for the new users, we have split the interface up into three categories:

  1. Market Info
  2. Account Info
  3. Trading Tools

The most predominant segment of the interface is the Market Info section. This section is comprised of the following segments: Market Overview, Market Selection, Market Information, and Market Contract Details.

The Market Overview can be found on the upper part of the interface, and it sports ticker symbols of all the available markets. Beneath, you can find the Market Selection which provides relevant market information about any of the select markets. The Market Information is by far the biggest section of this interface section, and it’s the place where you can find charts, order books, and recent trade history.

Lastly, the Market Contract Details can be found on the lower left side of the interface. Here, you can see information about either the contract or the market that is selected in the Market Selection section.

Bitmex Exchange Dashboard
Bitmex Exchange Dashboard

The Account Info section is comprised out of sections such as the dashboard tabs, the balance display, and the account information segments. The first two segments are quite self-explanatory, while the account information section allows you to customize your user-experience as well as access other account/related settings.

The Trading Tools section is arguably the most interesting part of the whole interface. It’s comprised out of the Place Order, Position Overview, and Manage Orders and Positions sections. The first is the place where you can place orders by selecting the required parameters (quantity, price, etc.). The second section allows viewing a wide assortment of info such as contracts, entry price, Return of Equity (ROE), liquidation price, and leverage used. The active orders and open positions will appear in the last segment, located underneath the Market Information section.

Once trades are registered, they can be viewed in the trading section. BitMEX uses a technology called auto-deleveraging. In short, It’s used to ensure that liquidated positions are able to be closed even in volatile markets.

BitMEX supports the following types of orders: Limit Order, Market Order, Stop Limit Order, Stop Market Order, Trailing Stop Order, Take Profit Limit Order, and Take Profit Market Order.

Bonus: How to Calculate BitMEX Profit

Of course, the platform provides you with the option of managing orders and their positions. When you place an order, it will be displayed in the middle bottom section of the trading dashboard. That is also the place where you can view your order history, fills, and other positions.

BitMEX Fees

The platform provides its traders with a comprehensive fee schedule. As discussed above, BitMEX offers up to 100% leverage. Of course, this percentage varies from product to product. For additional information, you can visit the dedicated section on the platform’s website.

Bitmex Fees
Bitmex Fees

For more information about the platform, feel free to access the platform’s trading, futures, swaps guides which cover an impressive range of issues. You can read about the security features here, and about the platform’s API here.

Or simply go to our extra reading: What is Bitmex: All You Need to Know

We hope that this article provides you with valid insights on how to use the BitMEX trading exchange service.

Good luck trading!

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