BitMEX Review [Updated 2022]

BitMEX is certainly one of the cryptocurrency exchanges with the highest trading volume in the world but it is also plagued by numerous problems that have undermined its reputation.

But is BitMEX ultimately a good choice for trading cryptocurrencies? You will find out by following our steps:

  • We will analyze how BitMEX works
  • We will evaluate costs and commissions
  • We will consider the safety factor

At the end of our review it will be up to you to decide if BitMEX is an advantageous and safe choice or is it better to opt for a CFD Broker like eToro, which offers a much higher level of security and a wide range of assets available, not only cryptocurrencies but stocks, commodities, currencies, etc.

Without forgetting the possibility of investing by copying the operations of other traders on the platform, in an absolutely intuitive way.

Register on eToro to start investing in cryptocurrencies
📊 Platform: BitMex
❓ What is it: Cryptocurrency exchange
⚖️ Regulation: None
💲 Accepted currency: Bitcoin
💻 Best alternatives: eToro / IQ Option
💶 Starting capital: 10 €

 

What is BitMEX?

BitMEX is a Cryptocurrency Exchange that also allows you to trade with leverage. This allows you to open very large positions but also amplifies the risks you run.

Initially launched in 2014, BitMEX became one of the first trading platforms to offer Bitcoin futures and quickly became an industry leader.

Currently this platform has achieved an incredible daily trading volume exceeding $ 3 billion.

This success stems from the orientation and experience of founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo, who came from traditional trading platforms and financial intermediaries.

BitMEX allows you to trade mainly two financial instruments:

  • Perpetual P2P Swap
  • Futures

Perpetuals have no maturity while Futures expire on a certain date which can range from 7 days to 4 months.

In addition to these contracts, BitMEX offers derivatives called BitMEX UP and BitMEX DOWN which respectively allow you to buy cryptocurrencies and sell cryptocurrencies short, with a certain predetermined time limit.

Is BitMEX convenient?

Convenience depends on many factors and in this review we will try to go through all of them.

First of all, this exchange uses only Bitcoin as a reference currency that must be used for both depositing and withdrawing.

The balance is therefore in Bitcoin and this greatly complicates the evaluation of costs and commissions which are very complex.

We will better analyze the commissions in the appropriate paragraph. For now, know that there are various kinds of commissions using BitMEX and another aspect to consider is that withdrawals are processed only once a day.

BitMEX currently has its headquarters in the Seychelles but is also registered in Hong Kong and Bermuda. The company that manages BitMEX is called HDR Global Trading Limited, registered in the Republic of Seychelles under company number 148707.

Unfortunately it is not a regulated site, there is no control body that monitors the work of BitMEX, which being in a “tax haven” can basically do what it wants with your money.

In addition to the problem of regulation, being an exchange, it suffers frequent cyber attacks.

How does BitMEX work?

Unlike many cryptocurrency exchanges, BitMEX offers a wide variety of derivatives as we have seen, which allow you to aim both up and down on many cryptocurrencies.

The cryptocurrencies available for these contracts are: Bitcoin, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tron and Ripple.

All contracts available on BitMEX can be traded with leverage and since it is not a regulated broker, the leverage can go as high as 1: 100. Attention, the lever is very dangerous and must be used with caution.

The high trading volume of BitMEX makes it a very liquid exchange and this is certainly an advantage. Too bad you can only deposit and withdraw in Bitcoin and this makes it difficult to achieve constant and manageable profits due to the wide swings of the most popular cryptocurrency in the world.

BitMEX fees

BitMEX commissions are not very simple, they vary depending on the type of contract traded, let’s see in detail:

  • Perpetual Swaps have a flat fee of 0.075% and a discount for liquidity injectors of 0.025%.
  • Bitcoin Futures have the same fees as Perpetuals, while Futures for all other cryptocurrencies have a flat fee of 0.25% and a cash-in discount of 0.05%.
  • All Bitcoin Futures held to maturity will be subject to an additional 0.05% fee.

BitMEX has no specific fees for deposits and withdrawals, but users will be charged a dynamic network fee depending on the load of the Bitcoin blockchain. This fee can be manually adjusted by users.

Is BitMEX Safe?

Given that the BitMEX platform is well built and relatively safe, unfortunately it carries with it all the limitations of the Exchange in terms of security:

  • BitMEX is not regulated and has no license
  • The headquarters of BitMEX are in a tax haven, outside the control of the law
  • The website is subject to cyber attacks and attempted theft
  • There are no guarantees on deposits made

Fortunately, BitMEX tries to limit the risks by keeping some of the users’ funds offline, in a relatively safe environment.

Recently a “computer error” has allowed the disclosure of thousands of email addresses of BitMEX users. It seems that there are no risks for these users, but this problem certainly does not make the Exchange investors sleep peacefully.

The best alternatives

Cryptocurrency exchanges such as BitMEX but also like the most famous Coinbase, Gemini, Bittrex and Binance, have classic security problems and are usually more expensive than CFD brokers.

So the best alternatives to invest in cryptocurrencies are offered by CFD brokers who offer derivatives (similar to those offered by BitMEX) that allow you to trade up or down, without deadlines and without commissions comparable to those of exchanges.

In addition, CFD brokers are regulated, have their registered office within the European Union and have high-level security systems that protect them from cyber attacks.

Now let’s try to summarize the Pros and Cons of CFD Brokers compared to BitMEX.

Pros

  • No commissions
  • Deposit security
  • License issued by CONSOB or CySEC

Cons

  • You cannot make deposits in Bitcoin but only in Euros

The advantages of CFD Brokers compared to BitMEX are evident, at this point let’s see which are the best for trading cryptocurrencies:

Platform: etoro
Min. Deposit: 50€
License: Cysec
  • Social Trading (Copy the best)
  • Simple and intuitive
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star
    Platform: xtb
    Min. Deposit: 100€
    License: Cysec
  • Free demo
  • Free Course
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star
    Platform: iqoption
    Min. Deposit: 50€
    License: Cysec
  • Free demo without limitations
  • Minimum deposit low
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star
    Platform: ubrokers
    Min. Deposit: 250€
    License: Cysec
  • Free Training
  • Zero Commissions
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star
    Platform: trade
    Min. Deposit: 100€
    License: Cysec
  • Free demo
  • Free course trading
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star
    72.30% of retail CFD accounts lose money
    Platform: forextb
    Min. Deposit: 250€
    License: Cysec
  • Free trading course
  • Free trading signals
  • SIGN UP
    1star 1star 1star 1star 1star

    eToro

    The first alternative to BitMEX is undoubtedly offered by the most popular online broker in the world: eToro, an intermediary with over 20 million members who can boast numerous licenses that guarantee the regularity of its work.

    eToro offers a very intuitive platform with which to buy and sell (short) the main cryptocurrencies, but also stocks, indices, commodities, currencies, etc.

    To invest in cryptocurrencies with eToro simply click on “trade”, decide whether to Buy or Sell the chosen cryptocurrency and open the position.

    Try the eToro platform for free by clicking here

    Alternatively, eToro provides a revolutionary system that allows you to copy the operations performed by other traders on the platform.

    The system is called Copy Trading and it works like this:

    • Register on eToro
    • Choose the Demo account or deposit € 50 (as a minimum) to access the real one
    • In the “People section”, choose the traders to copy
    • With a click, Copy Trading will copy the operations of the chosen traders on your account

    Thanks to Copy Trading you will replicate the returns of the traders you are copying, in relation to the amount invested. Here are some examples to understand the potential of the system:

    etoro copytrading

    Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

    Click here and choose which trader to copy

    Both Copy Trading and “manual” trading can also be tested on a free Demo account, without running any risks, because in Demo the money is virtual.

    Click here to sign up for free

    IQ Option

    All investments often have the defect of requiring large capital, which not all potential traders have available. This is the reason for the incredible success of IQ Option.

    IQ Option is a CFD Broker with an excellent reputation and with a regular CONSOB license. But the feature that has accentuated its popularity concerns the minimum deposit required to open an account: 10 euros!

    With IQ Option it is possible to open a real account with only 10 Euro and trade on cryptocurrencies or any other market starting from 1 Euro!

    These figures have allowed many new investors to approach trading without fear of risking large capital.

    Click here to sign up on IQ Option

    Knowing to attract many newcomers to trading, IQ Option has set up an educational area full of material to support investors, such as very specific ebooks and video courses.

    Even if 10 euros are a very small amount, IQ Option still offers a Demo account to practice with the splendid trading platform, without running any risk.

    Register for free on IQ Option from the official link

    BitMEX: Pros and Cons

    In this paragraph we want to summarize the Pros and Cons of Bitmex, so as to allow a more schematic and immediate evaluation of the cryptocurrency exchange.

    Pros

    • Wide variety of Cryptocurrency Futures, including Perpetual contracts
    • Leverage available up to 1: 100

    Cons

    • It only supports Bitcoin deposits
    • Withdrawals are only processed once per day
    • The platform suffers frequent cyber attacks
    • There are high trading fees

    BitMEX App

    BitMEX has created an app for trading via mobile devices. The app, available for free download on Android and iOS, should ensure a similar experience to that on the desktop platform.

    So let’s talk about full access to the markets, with full details on open positions and the ability to open and close them at any time. Important is the presence of instant notifications for the operations performed, which should allow the trader to always be on the spot.

    Unfortunately, according to the reviews of users who have downloaded and tested the app, things are not going so well.

    Reading the testimonials available on the official pages of the stores, we find several complaints. Beyond the failure to credit the welcome bonus (which, remember, is prohibited for online trading brokers by European legislation, further confirming the absence of regulation on this platform), there are other relevant technical problems.

    Quite simply, many users claim that … the app doesn’t work, it’s full of bugs and has to deal with numerous crashes affecting the stability of the platform.

    The testimonials on this tone are currently the majority and we have noticed a lack of feedback from BitMEX itself.

    Such a scenario appears in stark contrast to what we are used to seeing with platforms such as eToro, which instead guarantees a very high level of customer support, associated with an app famous for its stability and responsiveness.

    BitMEX Milan

    Sport fans will have noticed that the BitMEX logo has been on the sleeve of the official AC Milan match kit from the 2021/2022 season.

    The signed agreement provides for a multi-year partnership, with BitMEX becoming the first sleeve partner and official cryptocurrency trading partner of the Rossoneri team.

    BitMeX thus effectively enters the world of football and eSports, manifesting its ambitions in line with the expansion of the cryptocurrency market.

    BitMEX Milan AC

    On the one hand, this reassures us from the point of view of the reliability of the platform but, at the same time, gives us no guarantees regarding the expected improvements from the point of view of operations (think of the shortcomings manifested by the mobile app).

    Surely if the exchange wants to invest in its image it will have to work hard to make its service in line with that of the best competitors but, to date, the alternatives we have analyzed remain better from many points of view.

    BitMEX Reviews

    Reviews help to evaluate a platform from the point of view of users who use it, BitMEX has a score of 2.3 out of 5 in the average of the reviews on Trustpilot, not a good score unfortunately.

    54% of the total reviews give a “Poor” rating on BitMEX, which is the lowest, we have reported one to understand what users complain about, it is a translation so we apologize for the bad grammar:

    Max Lake says: Bitmex is one of the longest running crypto scams

    This site has a trading desk which protects BitMEX from risk. So if you put any type of position above £ 1000 into play, they will manipulate the market.
    You can actually predict manipulation and counter because their behavior is regular.

    Price changes on BitMEX are often not reflected in the real market, visible on other exchanges.

    You have to stay away from this exchange. You are trading against an internal trading desk that can change the price anytime, anywhere.

    BitMEX used to be part of the first type of unregulated exchanges, now there are much better options. I mean, even if it wasn’t a scam there are no real benefits to using BitMEX.

    This exchange is a scam. You have been warned.

    Conclusions

    Our BitMEX review should have given you all the data and information you need to evaluate if this Exchange is right for you or if it should be avoided.

    bitmex

    Unfortunately, there are very few advantages to using this Exchange to trade cryptocurrencies, especially if we compare it with a regular CFD Broker, which offers security, reliability and economic convenience.

    The advice we can give you is to try the Demo accounts offered by CFD Brokers. You can take all the tests you want without risking money.

    Later you will decide whether or not to make a first deposit to start investing seriously in cryptocurrencies.

    Here are the official links to access the free Demo accounts:

    How does BitMEX work?

    BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange that also offers derivatives such as Futures and Perpetuals.

    What commissions are there on BitMEX?

    The commissions provided by BitMEX vary for each type of contract. For more details read our review.

    Is BitMEX Safe?

    No, like all cryptocurrency exchanges it is not regulated and the headquarters are in a tax haven.

    What alternatives are there to BitMEX?

    CFD brokers like eToro are the best alternative to BitMEX for trading on cryptocurrencies, they are safe and commission free.

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