What Sets BitMEX Apart in the Digital Asset Race

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Victoria d’Este

Printed: July 16, 2025 at 11:24 am Up to date: July 16, 2025 at 11:25 am

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July 16, 2025 at 11:24 am

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Sam Sandiford, Head of Product and Institutional Enterprise Improvement at BitMEX, brings over 17 years of expertise in conventional finance to crypto derivatives. On this interview, Sam discusses his journey to BitMEX, the platform’s dedication to safety, and what units it aside for skilled merchants. He additionally shares his ideas on BitMEX’s evolving product lineup, the significance of transparency, and the tendencies shaping the way forward for digital asset buying and selling.

Are you able to please share your journey to Web3?

I joined BitMEX six and a half years in the past after 17 years in conventional finance. I’d labored in derivatives for a very long time, and BitMEX reached out to me to assist work with their monetary engineering designs, significantly round margining and perpetual swaps. 

It was a leap of religion on the time, and BitMEX has been a really fascinating place to be during the last six and a half years, as I’m certain these studying this publish will know. We’ve progressively elevated the product vary and are nonetheless a pressure to be reckoned with within the crypto markets.

BitMEX describes itself as a house for actual merchants. How does this manifest in your shopper expertise and community-building efforts?

After we speak about actual merchants, we’re taking a look at what I prefer to name semi-professional merchants and above. We’re probably not a spot for brand-new merchants who haven’t traded earlier than or who’re new to crypto. We’re a market specializing in derivatives. How does that present itself in what we do with purchasers and the neighborhood? 

We’ve got an institutional workforce that covers our establishments instantly with full white-glove service, and now we have VIP protection for our key retail merchants. That may be finished one-on-one with the retail gross sales workforce, in addition to with teams and communities in our focus language areas. We significantly give attention to Russian, Chinese language, and English, and now we have leads for every. In a few of these, we even have separate advertising and marketing or copywriting groups that handle and attain out to these person teams.

What particular UI customizations and superior order sorts do your most lively derivatives merchants depend on?

If we’re being clear, our most lively merchants will commerce through our API. What API merchants actually need is pace and low latency, which now we have – constant latency, reliability, and the preliminary ease of establishing. The BitMEX API was one of many first strong APIs in crypto buying and selling, so lots of what now we have is similar to different venues already. It’s very simple for our customers to hook up with. 

Some elements should not good, which we’ve been addressing as priorities. For instance, we labored on updating the readability and value of our API documentation. We will now translate it – so from being a pure English-language API documentation, we can have Chinese language and Russian very shortly, the place we discover nearly all of our API merchants.

The subsequent set of consumers are the whale merchants, buying and selling massive sizes – not on a high-frequency algo degree, however on a click on buying and selling foundation. They worth safety and pace of execution, so they need liquidity, which we’re engaged on bettering to draw much more of these customers. In addition they search for safety – BitMEX has by no means misplaced a single satoshi of buyer funds. 

Whale merchants need standardized market orders and have a tendency to make use of common restrict and market orders. They don’t want that complexity and infrequently do lots of their executions through cell gadgets slightly than sitting at a display screen.

The third set is the extra OG merchants. They’ve been buying and selling for 5, six years or extra on venues like BitMEX and search for customization. They will add totally different elements to their buying and selling web page, determine which set off to make use of for take income and cease loss, index, final value, or mark value. They will select between a restrict cease or a market cease. We’ve got all this performance within the background. 

We’re making an attempt to make the bottom interface simpler for brand spanking new customers by stripping that away in order that while you land on BitMEX, it’s not complicated and you can begin buying and selling right away. Then, by way of our retail gross sales workforce, KOLs, and neighborhood leaders, we make these different options discoverable to customers after they’ve are available in, to allow them to advance their buying and selling expertise in the event that they wish to.

The BMEX token affords buying and selling price reductions and VIP perks. What function does the token play in person engagement and loyalty?

We launched the BMEX token as a pure utility token round three or 4 years in the past. It has principally served for price reductions and withdrawal reductions. So, it had some utility however not monumental traction. Proper now, the BMEX token doesn’t play an unlimited function locally or our engagement, however that’s one thing we’re engaged on. 

Our subsequent step is to increase the scope of our VIP program. You may already use BMEX to realize entry to our VIP program, however for the time being, it’s PTS and withdrawal price waivers or reductions. There can be an elevated suite of VIP merchandise within the pipeline, together with white-glove service and invites to particular occasions, probably coming in Q3 this yr.

You combine buying and selling bots natively. What safeguards and monitoring instruments guarantee person funds stay safe?

The very first thing to say about having buying and selling bots in-house is that it brings all of the native safety of BitMEX. We’ve by no means misplaced a single Satoshi. We test our system each 5 seconds to ensure no funds have gone lacking. The bottom degree—”Are my funds nonetheless in BitMEX?”—is taken care of simply as if you happen to’re a daily dealer. The subsequent bit is transparency. If I begin a buying and selling bot, can I see what trades are occurring as quickly as I flip it on?

The way in which our buying and selling bots work is that you’ve a separate account or run the bots on a delegated account, and you’ll see these positions in actual time. You may take over at any time, cease the bot, and shut out the positions your self if you wish to. So, there’s full transparency.

On the similar time, ought to we ever have any operational points, our buyer funds are backed by a 37,000 Bitcoin insurance coverage fund. We don’t anticipate that, however we monitor our buying and selling bots for any dangerous conduct and take a look at them earlier than they exit. 

Ought to there ever be any situation with the bots, BitMEX can cowl the losses that could be incurred. We’re all the time monitoring the product suite, and now we have a workforce that vets all buying and selling bots earlier than they go dwell, so we all know what they’re alleged to do.

In your most frequent derivatives customers, what aggressive edge do you supply versus different platforms?

Security and safety are paramount to BitMEX. We’ve by no means misplaced any buyer funds. It has slowed us down at instances, nevertheless it’s a non-negotiable for us, not solely by way of custody, but additionally ensuring the system itself doesn’t lose funds on one aspect of the commerce. Leverage has been a key a part of BitMEX’s progress. We provide as much as 250x leverage. Different platforms supply related leverage, however not in an atmosphere as safe, one the place we will assure income for customers on the opposite aspect.

We’ve acquired a backstop of a big insurance coverage fund that’s been constructed up and managed over time. We set the leverage on particular contracts (not all of them at 250x or 100x), so we might be comfy getting out of these positions ought to liquidations happen. Whenever you use excessive leverage, liquidations positively happen; it’s a part of the method. We encourage customers to make use of the leverage they’re comfy with. Some merchants will commerce monumental quantities with excessive leverage and are pleased with the positive factors and losses, whereas newer merchants, we recommend, ought to reasonable their leverage.

Transparency can be vital. You may see every thing that’s occurring in BitMEX. We’ve got proof of reserves and liabilities to indicate our insurance coverage fund and the way we’ve acquired all our clients’ deposits underneath custody. Most significantly, we don’t commerce towards our clients. Different exchanges run in-house market makers or facilitate market makers buying and selling towards clients. We don’t try this. We’re really a peer-to-peer alternate. That’s tremendous vital for our transparency and buying and selling expertise. We’ve been round for 10 years, so we’re battle-tested. 

We’ve had a couple of bumps alongside the best way, however that simply means we all know the right way to take care of the obstacles once we’re confronted with them. Our tech is sturdy and strong, making us one of the crucial dependable venues on the road.

Moreover Russia and China, what new areas or markets are you concentrating on for growth, given the worldwide demand for derivatives?

We commerce virtually globally already and serve world markets, excluding the US and a handful of others. We wish to develop traction in sure focus areas, and we consider focus areas extra round language than particular geographies. After we take into consideration licensing, geographies come into play as nicely. We’re engaged on our licensing posture, and now we have a few jurisdictions the place there could be fascinating alternatives for us to get regulated successfully. 

We’re already extra lively in Asian geographies than Western ones. As licensing progresses, we see ourselves with rising buyer numbers, in all probability throughout the Center East and West into Europe over the following 6 to 12 months. We’ve additionally grown our CIS workforce considerably within the final 3 months, so we anticipate extra traction there as nicely. We’re open to enterprise from CIS and Russian audio system.

As tokenization expands into real-world property, how is BitMEX making ready to assist or commerce these new asset courses?

For us, RWAs in all probability begin with stablecoins. We provide a small number of stablecoins as margin forex for the time being and are frequently trying to increase that. We added Ripple USD as a margin forex not too long ago and are taking a look at different stablecoins –  probably yielding stablecoins and cash market-based funds as future collateral. We’re probably not a spot alternate; we’re a derivatives alternate, so our give attention to RWAs is generally round utilizing them as collateral.

We’ve got teams of purchasers incomes 50% plus yearly on buying and selling who should not so fearful in regards to the yield from their collateral as a result of they’re collateral environment friendly and commerce very continuously with small buying and selling sizes. For them, this doesn’t matter. There’s a group of consumers we wish to carry on who maintain positions for longer and bigger sizes – for them, margin effectivity is vital. So, we’ll search for essentially the most dependable collateral that may be transformed into our currencies simply. 

In any other case, somebody on the alternate bears the slippage. If we wish to get Bitcoin or Tether again from a cash market fund token, we have to know that we will do it reliably, in measurement, and with out an excessive amount of slippage. These are the avenues we’re exploring on RWAs. Exterior of tokenization, we’re additionally exploring the usage of securities by way of a associate, significantly T-bills, for use as collateral, after which the associate will present buying and selling funds of Tether or different stablecoins on BitMEX. 

We are going to keep in contact with different RWA initiatives and take into account itemizing these both as spot or as perps, the place they’re massive and open sufficient to the universe of BitMEX merchants. We in all probability gained’t have a look at a token with very particular necessities, however we’ll have a look at a globally obtainable token.

What macroeconomic or geopolitical forces do you consider will most importantly form the crypto derivatives market over the following three to 5 years?

That is fascinating. As markets are shifting proper now, we’ve had a dominant place, significantly within the centralized alternate house. BitMEX is registered in Seychelles, however most of our employees are based mostly in Asia, and lots of buying and selling has been from this area. Worth discovery, retail merchants, institutional merchants, and even buying and selling knowledge facilities are based mostly largely out of Asia, significantly Tokyo. A lot in order that we’re shifting our knowledge heart to Tokyo from Dublin within the subsequent couple of months.

Within the final six months, the U.S. has come out of its shell and can spark progress. The U.S. has three and a half years left of Trump’s presidency to essentially make its mark on home and world  crypto markets. There’s lots of pressure in the midst of the globe, nevertheless it’s actually an Asia versus U.S. stability. 

For exchanges which can be neither U.S.-centric nor Asia-centric, there’s a chance to intermediate that movement. I believe we’ll see consolidation within the U.S. to 2 or three venues, consolidation in Asia to 3 or 4 large venues, after which localized onshore exchanges, as we see in locations like Korea with dominant exchanges like Upbit. Then a handful of gamers, and I see BitMEX on this house, will intermediate that movement. 

It’ll be very onerous for an onshore dealer within the U.S. to commerce towards a retail dealer in China, for instance, until it’s within the centralized house. That movement will probably be intermediated by licensed venues outdoors of the U.S. and Asia. The geopolitical pressure driving that’s in all probability the U.S. for the time being.

By 2030, what do you consider would be the defining characteristic of profitable crypto buying and selling platforms, and the way is BitMEX aligning with that imaginative and prescient?

I believe there are a couple of profitable variations of a crypto buying and selling platform. We transfer extra in direction of the retail aspect, mass adoption, and buying and selling on private gadgets – buying and selling on cell slightly than on desktop. That’s partly a generational factor. Lots of our merchants underneath 30 are way more mobile-focused, whereas these 35 and above are desktop merchants, probably former finance professionals. We see that shifting lots. 

First, it’s easy accessibility and ease, and with that in all probability comes passive buying and selling. We talked about buying and selling bots earlier, and replica buying and selling positively comes as a continuation to that. Perhaps even entry to asset administration and personal merchandise would be the norm. 

The historic crypto merchants haven’t actually been as as a result of they’ve been taking a look at 20%, 30%, 50% annualized yields slightly than 5, six, or seven. However with that comes a big danger urge for food, which the common crypto adopter gained’t have in three or 4 years’ time. They’ll have a decrease danger urge for food and be pleased with decrease yields. So, for starters, having sturdy cell assist could be a main defining characteristic. 

Within the institutional house, we’ll in all probability begin to look a little bit bit like TradFi, at the very least from a tech angle – co-location, regulation, stability, and probably darkish swimming pools for folks to commerce. There’s a slight issue with the best way the crypto derivatives market is true now to make that work. In the meanwhile, each contract on a special alternate, even when its underlying could be very related, is definitely a separate instrument. There’s no direct fungibility throughout these devices. 

Individuals, together with ourselves and merchants, prefer it that approach as a result of they perceive the variations, and that creates buying and selling alternatives. Standardization and central clearing, which could be an concept that comes up, should change a bit. We would see extra standardized contracts, at the very least on Bitcoin and ETH, so folks can actually be fungible. 

There can be resistance from plenty of gamers as a result of it principally eats into their margins. There’s a chance that clearinghouses can be in place. It was tried seven or eight years in the past and didn’t work, however perhaps the market will determine in three years’ time if that’s essential. That would definitely be simpler to know from a regulatory standpoint.

About The Writer

Victoria is a author on a wide range of know-how subjects together with Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her in depth expertise permits her to write down insightful articles for the broader viewers.

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Victoria d’Este