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About BitMEX

BitMEX (Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange) is a platform offering advanced futures and swaps trading for professional cryptocurrency investors. Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, BitMEX has played a pioneering role in the crypto derivatives market. The platform is famous for offering high leverage trading (up to 100x) and is particularly preferred by institutional investors and experienced traders.

Country and Regulation

BitMEX was initially registered and operated in Seychelles. However, after regulatory issues with US authorities in 2021, the platform underwent significant changes. Currently, BitMEX operates as two separate entities: BitMEX Global (offering 100x leverage) and BitMEX US (a low-leverage platform compliant with US regulations). The company's operational headquarters is located in Singapore.

Service Scope and Products

BitMEX primarily offers futures contracts on Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies. The platform's main products include Perpetual Swap contracts, Traditional Futures (Quarterly Futures), and MXN (Momentum Swap) contracts. BitMEX does not offer spot trading and all transactions are conducted in USDT or BTC. The platform also features a "Testnet" demo account function that allows users to test strategies without risk.

User Statistics and Liquidity

While BitMEX's active user count is not fully disclosed, the platform's average daily trading volume is around $2-5 billion. It is one of the world's most liquid platforms, especially for Bitcoin futures. The platform's user base largely consists of professional traders, hedge funds, and institutional investors. BitMEX was the most dominant player in the crypto derivatives market between 2017-2020.

Key Features and Innovations

Up to 100x leveraged Bitcoin futures trading
World's first Perpetual Swap contract (XBTUSD)
Zero commission trading (maker fee rebate)
Advanced risk management system (Auto-Deleveraging)
Professional level API support
Real-time depth data and charts
Risk-free practice environment with Testnet
Multi-layered security system (HSM, Multi-sig)
Matching engine with 100,000+ transactions per second capacity
BTC and USDT collateral options

Regulation and Security

In 2021, BitMEX reached a settlement exceeding $100 million with the US CFTC and FinCEN and made significant structural changes to comply with regulations. The platform stores 100% of user funds in cold wallets and regularly publishes Proof of Reserves. BitMEX also protects users from extreme market movements with an "Insurance Fund". All transactions are transmitted encrypted and the platform has never been hacked.

BMEX Token and Ecosystem

In 2022, BitMEX launched a utility token called BMEX. BMEX tokens provide discounts on trading fees, access to special events, and various benefits on the platform. Tokens can be earned through user activities on the platform or distributed through periodic airdrops. BMEX tokens are also used in BitMEX's newly launched Spot and Earn products.

Technology Infrastructure

All of BitMEX's infrastructure runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and offers high availability with a multi-AZ (Availability Zone) architecture. The platform's matching engine is written in C++ and can process over 100,000 transactions per second. BitMEX also offers FIX protocol support, allowing institutional investors to integrate their own algorithmic trading systems. The web interface is developed with React.js and all API documentation is publicly available.