BitMEX Launches Crypto Spot Trading Platform

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX has expanded its range of services, and finally introduced a crypto spot trading platform to its users, the exchange said in a press release on 17 May.

According to the announcement, the newly launched BitMEX Spot Exchange will allow retail and institutional investors to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency. The exchange will initially support seven pairs of digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink, Uniswap, Polygon, Axie Infinity, and Ape Coin, all of which will be traded against the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. The CEO of BitMEX, Alexander Höpner, said in a statement:

“Last year, we introduced our Beyond Derivatives strategy, and the launch of BitMEX Spot is the centerpiece of this vision. Today, BitMEX is one step closer to providing our users with a full crypto ecosystem to buy, sell, and trade their favorite digital assets. We will not rest as we aim to deliver more features, more trading pairs, and more ways for our clients to take part in the crypto revolution.”

In order to celebrate the launch of BitMEX Spot Exchange, the company will also be hosting a two month long giveaway for traders, with a combined prize pool of over $1 million. The decision to build its own spot trading platform was made last year, as a response to the increasing demand for such capabilities by BitMEX’s current user base.

Launched back in 2014, BitMEX is one of the largest and oldest crypto trading platforms, but unlike spot exchanges it offers its users the ability to buy and sell contracts — such as futures, options, and perpetuals — on a large variety of cryptocurrency assets. The exchange is currently the 23’rd largest crypto derivatives platform, generating a daily trading volume of around $830 million.

While it was one of the largest crypto trading platforms in the past, BitMEX’s popularity started to dwindle after its founders, Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo, were charged for facilitating unregistered trading and other violations in 2020, and earlier this year both pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The court eventually ordered that the three co-founders, including Samuel Reed, will need to pay a total of $30 million in civil monetary penalties.