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BitMEX Spot Trading Goes LIVE; More Details

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BitMEX, one of the world’s largest digital asset trading platforms, has announced the launch of its Spot Exchange available for both retail and institutional traders. With the launch, the firm hopes to enter the top ten global spot exchanges, as it expands its product offering.

Besides that, it also offered an opportunity for traders to win a prize pool valued at $1,000,000 USD. The launch of the BitMEX Spot Exchange marks a significant step that aims to provide cutting-edge products to crypto traders.

As per the blog, the exchange currently extends support to seven pairs of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], Chainlink [LINK], Uniswap [UNI], Polygon [MATIC], Axie Infinity [AXS)], and ApeCoin [APE], all against Tether [USDT]. 

But this is just the beginning of spot trading on the platform, the blog added. More cryptocurrencies and trading pairs including BMEX tokens would be added and are due to arrive in the coming months.

“Users who prefer to trade on the go will soon be able to access BitMEX Spot via our new crypto app. More on this to come,” the blog read.

Alexander Höpner, CEO of BitMEX, said:

Last year, we introduced our Beyond Derivatives strategy, and the launch of BitMEX Spot is the centrepiece of this vision. Today, it 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.

BitMEX’s Former CEO Faces Criminal Charge

The launch comes amidst its ex CEO’s high-profile legal battle with the CFTC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an agency that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets.

BitMEX co-founder and former CEO, Arthur Hayes, settled his civil charges for $10 million and pleaded guilty to criminal charges brought by the DOJ.  He now faces sentencing in the criminal case.

BitMEX or Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, was founded in 2014 and is one of the world’s largest and oldest crypto trading entities dealing in futures contracts and other derivative products tied to the value of cryptocurrencies.

Grayscale doubles down on its efforts for a Spot Bitcoin ETF

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Asset management firm Grayscale has renewed efforts to gain permission from the US securities watchdog in converting the world’s largest crypto investment vehicle into an exchange-traded fund.

As per a letter sent to the regulator, the asset manager is bolstering its application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to convert its $40 billion Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The latest move from Grayscale comes as the SEC is contemplating whether to give the green signal for US exchange-traded funds to hold bitcoin, rather than derivatives linked to the cryptocurrency, for the first time.

The investment firm is currently awaiting to hear back from the SEC in early July on a decision that would change its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. If they are rejected, Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein has hinted that it is willing to flip the script and take SEC to court.

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While there is no doubt that Grayscale’s CEO has been one of the vocal SEC critics, he is not alone. In an interview, this month, Bitwise Asset Management’s Matt Hougan took note of the fallacy and said,

“The SEC is objecting on the grounds of manipulation concerns, but its specific request was to demonstrate that regulated CME markets are of significant size. Bitcoin is now an institutional market. It’s a market with institutional service providers, institutional investors, and a large and robust regulated futures market.”

Grayscale’s gambit is monumental for the crypto industry

Several other crypto firms have already been reprimanded in their attempts to open similar funds and Grayscale’s gambit represents one of the crypto industry’s last hopes of launching such a product in the near future.

But that has hardly acted as a deterrence. As ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon pointed out that a growing number of financial advisors are interested in investing in a bitcoin ETF.

A 2022 Bitwise/ETF Trends Survey revealed that 82% of advisors prefer a spot bitcoin ETF over a futures-based alternative. The demand has also increased for bitcoin products that investors can purchase on traditional brokerage platforms, Lydon said.

Right now, there are not many choices, so it’s not going backward, he added. Crypto experts are still hopeful a spot bitcoin ETF could make its entry as early as this year.