One of the major cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, BitMEX, said a total of $1.0 trillion was traded on the platform over the past 365 days.
BitMEX, the largest coin-margined swaps exchange, added that this milestone comes after it completed the month-long process of verifying its entire user base in December. Verified users can trade on the go with BitMEX Mobile, which was launched last year in over 140 countries.
Over $335 billion worth of cryptocurrency derivatives have been traded following the verification deadline. Following the completion of the process, BitMEX recorded in January and February 2021 two of the highest monthly volumes in its history.
Alexander Höptner, Chief Executive Officer of 100x Group, the holding company for the BitMEX platform, said: “2021 will be a resurgent year for BitMEX and the pillars of this platform have proven themselves to be rock solid. In 2021, which we think could be a sea-change year for the cryptocurrency landscape, BitMEX will differentiate itself by offering the best of both worlds – a fair trading environment composed of verified users alongside top-tier liquidity, performance and security.”
In the aggregate, growth in crypto derivatives trading volume is now outpacing that of spot trading. According to data analytics company, CryptoCompare, cryptocurrency derivatives trading volumes more than doubled in January to $2.9 trillion. That was a new all-time high, breaking the previous record of $1.43 trillion set in December, also highlighting the trading frenzy that has accompanied bitcoin’s charge to uncharted highs.
However, BitMEX lags behind its major rivals. The largest derivatives exchange by monthly trading volume in January was Binance, which traded a total of $890 billion. It was followed by OKEx, which saw its derivatives trading volume go up 102% to $582 billion, and by Huobi, whose volume increased to $499 billion.
On the regulation front, US authorities claim BitMEX served US customers while flouting the nation’s banking laws. The popular bitcoin futures platform defended itself explaining that while Americans cannot access its trading services through IP addresses based in the US, some users may have masked their actual identities through virtual private networks, or VPNs, to disguise their locations.
