BitMEX Review 2022 – Is The Crypto Exchange Safe To Use?

Are you looking to trade cryptocurrencies on leverage?

BitMEX may be the place for you.

Before picking an exchange, you need to evaluate the platform and see if it’s a safe and stable place to trade.

BitMEX is one of the top trading platforms for people looking to trade on leverage and make huge profits.

In this review, we will cover everything there is to know about BitMEX.

BitMEX Exchange Review

Compare BitMEX

Signing Up For BitMEX

To sign up for BitMEX click here.

To create an account on Bitmex.com, all you have to do is enter your desired email address and password and then click “Register”.

BitMEX KYC

Verification on BitMEX is slightly different to other exchanges.

Some cryptocurrency exchanges utilize a tiered verification system.

BitMEX will require you to verify your identity before you can begin depositing, margin trading or withdrawing.

To do so fill out their KYC forms and supply supporting documents such as:

• ID Card
• Driving License
• Passport

Once fully verified, you will no longer have any limits on your account.

You can trade freely, deposit and withdraw whenever you wish.

BitMEX Features

BitMEX has a wide variety of features to choose from on their platform.

Margin Trading

The first and most popular feature is BitMEX margin trading.

Futures contracts allow you to trade a derivative of the Bitcoin price without actually trading the underlying asset, as they are cashed settled.

Essentially you are betting whether the price of Bitcoin will go up or down.

Margin trading via futures contracts also allow you to short Bitcoin. This way you can trade in both directions rather than just buying Bitcoin and being long all the time.

To find out more on how to short Bitcoin, see our guide.

BitMEX offers perpetual futures contracts such as:

Perpetual contracts were originally invented by BitMEX. They are similar to a traditional futures contract but have no expiry or settlement.

The Perpetual Swap is intended to mimic a spot market with margin enabled.

BitMEX uses a smart funding mechanism which helps keep contracts tethered to their underlying spot price.

They also offer standard futures contracts such as:

• ETHUSDH22 – March 25th Expiry
• XBTM22 – June 24th Expiry
• XBTH22 – March 25th Expiry

Futures contracts do not utilize this funding mechanism, therefore price can be vastly different to the underlying market price.

All of these can be traded with leverage which varies based on the contract.

Ethereum and Bitcoin both offer 100x leverage on their perpetual contracts.

Other altcoins such as XRP, LUNA and SOLD offer either 20x or 50x maximum leverage.

Buy Crypto

BitMEX has partnered with payment providers to allow you to top up your BitMEX account directly.

You can use the buy crypto feature to purchase either XBT (Bitcoin) or USDT (USD Stable Coin).

These can then be used in your trading account.

BitMEX does not directly handle the fiat deposit process. The conversions are handled by the partners that BitMEX has built.

You can use any of these fiat currencies to purchase: AUD, AED, ARS, BRL, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, GHS, HKD, IDR, INR, JPY, KES, KRW, MXN, NGN, NOK, PHP, QAR, RUB, SEK, THB, TRY, TZS, UAH, UGX, USD, VND, ZAR.

BitMEX Earn

The BitMEX Earn feature is a great way to earn with lower risk.

It works by staking your tokens such as Bitcoin, USD or other coins on the platform and earning a percentage return over time.

Indicative APRs tend to be around 4-6% per year.

Fixed lockups are usually for around 30 days. During this time period you will not have access to your tokens, but once the fixed lockup is complete, you will have access again.

These tend to sell out very quickly and are a great way for those that don’t want to actively trade, to make small amounts of money on their HODL position.

Staking assets such as Bitcoin is great, because even if Bitcoin goes up, you still earn the interest for allocating your tokens to the earn program.

This allows you to gain from the interest you earn, alongside the price increase of Bitcoin.

Crypto Converter

The crypto conversion feature is an easy way to switch between USD and XBT and vise versa.

The crypto converter charges zero fees, so you can switch for minimal costs.

If you prefer to hold your assets in USD instead of Bitcoin, this is a great way to minimize risks.

User Interface

The UI of BitMEX is one of the best perks in my opinion.

The clean user interface has revolutionized trading.

It allows for easy trade management, open/closing positions and charting, in an all in one UI.

On the left hand side of the UI we have the “Place Order” section that lets you open and close your positions.

Navigating this is very easy with trade types along the top of “Limit”, “Market”, “Stop Market” and a dropdown section that has more order types such as “Stop Limit”, “Trailing Stop” and more.

Your Position is actively shown below this with the amount of leverage you are using.

You can adjust your total account leverage easily by dragging the slider.

To open isolated positions, you can drag it to one of the pre-selected leverage amounts, or create your own.

To open an account wide position, you can utilize the cross leverage function.

Below this you’ll see the contract type you’re trading. It’ll show the index price, 24h volume, open interest and funding rate.

For the main user interface we have the “Orderbook” displayed on the left hand side, this displays the bids and asks for the contract selected.

In the middle we have the TradingView integrated chart, that allows you to do your own technical analysis.

Below that we have the “Depth Chart”, which is a visual display of the orderbook.

On the right you’ll see “Recent Trades”, showing you which trades have recently been executed.

Along the bottom is how you monitor and manage your existing positions.

I’ll explain what each of these are:

• Positions displays your currently active and open positions
• Closed positions displays positions that you have recently closed
• Active orders are open orders that you have created waiting to be executed
• Stops lists your stop orders that you have created and are waiting to be executed
• Fills displays the prices and amounts at which your orders have been filled
• Order history displays all of your previous orders

BitMEX Wallet

Funding your BitMEX account is kept very simple.

It can be funded in 2 ways.

Either you deposit Bitcoin or USDT.

Both of these can be swapped over with the crypto convert feature.

Deposits are very quick, only requiring 1 confirmation on the Bitcoin network or 12 confirmations for USDT on the Ethereum network.

The minimum Bitcoin deposit is 0.0001 XBT.

The minimum USDT deposit is 0.001 USDT.

BitMEX stores Bitcoin on cold storage multi-signature addresses. This ensures maximum security.

All withdrawals are processed at 13:00 UTC daily. Withdrawals are only processed at this time, once per day.

Customer Support

BitMEX customer support operates through a emailed ticket system.

They provide support in 3 different langauges: English, Chinese and Russian.

Support provides quick and efficient responses.

Alongside this you also have the BitMEX Knowledge base which has tons of information on the website.

For general questions you have about BitMEX you can also checkout the FAQ.

BitMEX Fees

BitMEX offers a tier structured discount on fees.

Taker Fees

Taker fees start at 0.05%. Depending on your 30 day volume, you may receive a discount on these fees.

The discount fee structure is the following:

Maker fees

BitMEX offers a very lucrative market maker programme.

By providing liquidity, you receive a maker fee rebate of 0.01%.

This means that BitMEX pays you the trading fee for each order you create, that gets filled.

Deposit Fees

Deposits of any cryptocurrencies to BitMex addresses do not have any fees. You will pay the blockchain fees which is standard, but there are no fees on BitMEXs end.

Withdrawal fees

BitMEX charges a network fee which is different between Bitcoin and USDT.

Bitcoin has a minimum fee of 0.0002 XBT.

USDT has a minimum fee of 25 USDT.

This fee may vary and change depending on how congested the network is.

FAQ

Is BitMEX legit?

BitMEX is a legitimate crypto exchange that provides a margin trading platform for experienced traders.

Since it’s creation BitMEX has not suffered any hacks or breaches.

They supply many professional traders a trading platform for crypto trading with advanced trading tools and the option of high leverage trading.

There has been some controversy when it comes to the BitMEX trading engine. The engine has had issues when it comes to overloading, as the exchange experienced high volumes of trading.

Ever since requiring full KYC, the volumes have dropped and BitMEX hasn’t since experienced any issues with their trading engine.

Is BitMEX Safe?

Like we stated in the previous section, the cryptocurrency exchange has not experienced any hacks or breaches.

User funds have never been compromised.

The trading exchange also utilizes the BitMEX insurance fund which provides a way for clawbacks to be a non issue should there be large liquidations.

Who owns BitMEX?

BitMEX is owned by HDR Global Trading Limited.

The founders of which are Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo.

The BitMEX headquarters are based out of Seychelles.

Recently the founders violated CTFC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) regulations and were ordered to pay a $100 million fine.

Is BitMEX Illegal?

No BitMEX is not illegal.

BitMEX is not available to anyone in the U.S jurisdiction, as it clearly states to anyone that visits it on the BitMEX website.

BitMEX customers that held accounts while based out of the US had to either verify their accounts or close them.

Can you Make Money on BitMEX?

It is certainly possible to make money leveraged trading on BitMEX.

The platform is most suited to more experienced traders using advanced trading techniques.

As a casual trader, that just wants to trade crypto either with no leverage or very low leverage, there may be better platforms suited to you.

For those experienced with margin and futures trading, BitMEX is perfect.

What countries is BitMEX banned in?

BitMEX is banned in the following countries: United States, Cuba, Crimea and Sevastopol, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Seychelles, Bermuda, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Ontario Canada, Quebec Canada, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Western Sahara and Yemen.

Can BitMEX be trusted?

As someone that has used BitMEX for years, the cryptocurrency trading exchange can be trusted.

As long as you understand the risks of trading leveraged contracts and volatile risk assets, then BitMEX is a good crypto market to use.

Unlike other crypto exchanges, BitMEX does not offer a wide range of spot markets. The BitMEX contracts are exclusively focused on leverage trading.

Conclusion

That sums up our BitMEX Review. Overall it’s a fantastic futures exchange, supplying a margin trading platform for those seasoned traders that want to experiment and trade crypto on leverage.

The BitMEX exchange has some of the best security we have seen. The trading interface is spectacular and it offers low trading fees.

The BitMEX app isn’t the greatest and it has a troubled past when it comes to regulation.

But on the whole we think the BitMEX exchange is an amazing place to trade crypto assets.