Overall how do we wrap up this BitMex review
BitMex Review
BitMex is a cryptocurrency trading platform that is aimed squarely at day traders and swing traders. This makes it markedly different from other cryptocurrency trading sites such as Binance, and means we need to approach this BitMex review from a different angle.
In this post, we will take an in-depth look at BitMex and whether it is a good option for your own cryptocurrency trading activities. At the same time, we will explore the features that set it apart, and explain precisely what all of this jargon means!
What is BitMex?
BitMex is a trading platform for cryptocurrency that was founded by HDR Global Trading Limited. This organization was itself founded by bankers Arthur Hayws, Samuel Reed, and Ben Delo. The site has been operating since 2014 and has developed a strong reputation for itself as one of the more reputable and well-built trading platforms on the market.
The company has a daily trading volume of 35,000BTC with over 540,000 accesses monthly, making it a large platform with a lot of activity. The site has a history of trading more than $34 billion in Bitcoin alone! Those are big numbers and they are positive signs for traders who need high volumes in order to increase their likelihood of trades being triggered.
BitMex is a cryptocurrency only platform, unlike competitors such as PrimeXBT, which means that it only accepts bitcoin deposits that can then be used to buy other cryptocurrencies. To be clear then: you cannot trade in fiat currencies through BitMex and nor is there a fiat gateway for convenient purchasing of crypto.
Many people find that this is a positive feature however, as it makes for a streamlined and powerful system. It does make it a little less convenient for those that are new to cryptocurrencies however.
What is Day Trading? What is Cryptocurrency?
If you don’t know what either of these terms mean, then there’s a chance that BitMex isn’t the right platform for you. This is not a particularly beginner friendly site to learn the intricacies of trading cryptocurrency.
But it may still be useful to know the basics.
Cryptocurrencies are currencies that aren’t regulated by a central bank or government. They also lack a physical counterpart, unlike most “fiat currency” that represents amounts of gold.
So how is this money regulated? The power of cryptocurrency comes from the fact that it must be mined using highly powerful computers that calculate algorithms. This takes an increasing amount of time the longer that the process goes on, meaning there is a finite amount of the currency that will ever exist (just like gold).
Ownership over cryptocurrency is the other factor that needs to be handled. This is controlled by an amazing and extremely important technology called the blockchain. The blockchain essentially acts like a giant ledger that exists on multiple different machines across the web. Every transaction is updated in this ledger and that means that the system as a whole cannot be hacked and everyone knows who owns what. It’s a genius system and one that could transform the world in countless, highly meaningful ways.
Day trading is a concept from trading fiat currencies and stocks/shares. This essentially allows you to buy currency that will fluctuate in its value (called volatility) and then sell it very quickly. This then allows you to take advantage of those rapid fluctuations and to thereby make a profit. You buy for one price and sell for another! Of course, the change in value is very small – but if you buy enough of the currency, then it all adds up.
Cryptocurrencies have naturally higher volatility and the lack of centralized regulation means that they can be traded in a number of powerful and extremely quick ways that wouldn’t be possible with other types of currency.
That’s where BitMex and competitors like PrimeXBT step in.
User Interface
As mentioned, the user interface offered by BitMex is extremely powerful: placing everything you need all in one spot and conveying large amounts of information very quickly, effectively, and intuitively.
That said, some do find that the interface is a little more dated-looking that some of the competitors.
From the homescreen you can click on any instrument which will open up the corresponding data. This includes the orderbook, recent trades, order slip, etc. You also have widgets that provide useful at-a-glance information, and these can be updated in order to arrange the interface precisely as you like. We enjoyed this level of customization, as it allowed us to keep everything right where it would be most useful for us and to thereby see what we needed right away with no need to click!
After trades are made, you can easily view them all through the interface. Tabs let users see Active Orders, Stops, Orders Filled, and more. It’s also easy to quickly cancel any order with a big, easy “Cancel” button. You can view all open positions with an analysis to show if it is in black or red.
Features
BitMex uses auto-deleveraging in order to allow users to close liquidated positions even when the market is highly volatile. Auto deleveraging ensures that when a position bankrupts without available liquidity, the positive side of that position will deleverage. Features like this are thoughtful and make this a great experience for those that are day trading.
The different types of trade on offer for BitMex users include:
Limit Order
Market Order
Stop Limit Oder
Stop Market Order
Trailing Stop Order
Take Profit Limit Order
Take Profit Market Order
You can also use a futures contract. This is an agreement that you will buy or sell a given asset at a set point in time at a pre-arranged price. This, of course, allows you to make a profit or loss by selling higher or lower than the market value. BitMex supports leverages up to 100x on a number of contracts, which is comparable to the competitors like PrimeXBT.
BitMex also offers Binary series contracts. These are prediction based contracts that can only settle at either 0 or 100. This is a slightly more complex variation on the former option.
Leveraging is also available. This means that users can place orders that are bigger than the current balance in their account. This could result in an even higher profit compared to what would be possible with what is in your wallet – especially if you are extremely confident. However, this can also of course risk you losing even more. That makes it very important that you be careful when taking this action.
Margin Trading options available are Isolated and Cross-Margin. Isolated means that users can select the amount of money in their wallet that should be used to hold a position once the order is placed. Cross-Margin means that all the user’s money can be used. This is a useful feature for advanced traders but is also particularly risky – so it’s highly important that you proceed with extreme caution once again.
Currencies
BitMex offers a variety of different currencies to be traded.
These are:
Bticoin
Bitcoin Cash
Dash Ethereum
Ethereum Classic
Litecoin
Monero
Ripple
Tezos
Zcash
Fees
Fees are very competitive on the whole when using BitMex, although they can also get a little bit complex. For futures trading, there is a simple fee schedule. The Maker and Taker fee for Bitcoin and other currencies starts as low as .025% and .075, which is very competitive.
There is a 10% discount on all trades for new users, which is a nice incentive that doesn’t go unnoticed!
The good news is that there is no fee for deposits or withdrawals. This is particularly good, as many competing platforms do charge withdrawal fees when using certain currencies. Keep in mind that there are different minimum withdrawals for different types of currency however. That said, we always found we were able to access our cash quickly and easily.
Customer Service
When using any service like this, it is extremely important to ensure that the customer service is exemplary.
If you wonder why this matters so much, then consider a scenario where something goes wrong and your money goes missing – something that can realistically happen with any kind of trading platform. Whether you manage to get in touch with someone immediately, or whether you are forced to wait for days to get a response is going to really matter at this point.
The good news is that BitMex is excellent when it comes to customer service. The company responds to questions extremely quickly and is always happy to help. In our experience, the team is friendly, knowledgeable, and readily available as needed. This is one of the very best recommendations we can give in this BitMex review!
BitMex Review Conclusions
So, overall how do we wrap up this BitMex review? Do we recommend this exchange? Who is it for? What do you need to be aware of?
As you have probably gathered from the generally positive tone throughout this BitMex review, we are happy to report that this is a great trading platform that is trustworthy, powerful, intuitive, and with lots of great features.
Particularly great are the many features that are geared toward day traders and swing traders. The inclusion of leverage is particularly useful and is something we don’t see on every platform. In fact, BitMex has an entire insurance system based around this which you should definitely read into.
The fees are also highly competitive, while the trade volume and liquidity are also extremely good. There’s a real buzz around the exchange and the worldwide availability (excluding the US) is also a big win.
But while all this is true, it’s not all perfect. The interface here is a little dated and while it doesn’t hinder the usage (it’s entirely an aesthetic thing!), that is worth keeping in mind as you are going to be looking at these screens a LOT.
It’s also true that this is a very advanced trading platform aimed at high level strategies. In short, it’s not terribly welcoming for beginners and that’s something to keep in mind. The lack of a fiat gateway or any fiat trading also means that this isn’t terribly accessible for newcomers.
For those that want a really powerful trading platform that is ideal for making quick profits from day trading, you can’t really go wrong with BitMex. The site is also highly secure, has excellent customer support, and has been around long enough to have developed a big user base and great reputation.
For all these reasons, we give BitMex a strong recommendation. For those that are looking for more straightforward cryptocurrency trading though, Binance might be a stronger option. It’s also worth checking out the competitor PrimeXBT if you’re interested in day trading – as this platform has fiat trading and some other unique features.
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