BitMEX launches spot market to fuel recovery

BitMEX — one of the oldest exchanges in the digital asset futures space — hopes the launch of a new spot market will help it attract retail investors amid a slump in cryptocurrency trading.

The firm, which hasmade headlines for its founder Arthur Hayes' legal woes, unveiled its new spot market on Tuesday, offering cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, Bored Ape Yacht Club's APE token and Uniswap's governance token UNI transaction.

Since European exchange veteranAlexander Höptner took over from Hayes in late 2020, BitMEX has hinted at expanding beyond its basic perpetual contracts, which were briefly slashed before rivals such as FTX and Binance encroached on its market share. In the center of the market.

Compared with traditional derivatives platforms, the new spot market has a more user-friendly interface, softer fonts and warmer colors.

“It’s completely different from our classic look and feel,” said Genia Mikhalchenko, vice president of spot at BitMEX. He hopes it will appeal to retail investors who may be looking for new options after the latest downturn.

“We hope to break into the top 15 spot markets within the next 12 to 16 months,” he added. "As the market improves, we want to ride that wave against the wind."

Taking a realistic approach, Mikhalchenko said he knew BitMEX was late to spot trading, adding that the company had no “illusions” about its prospects.

However, he said the company’splan to give away $1 million in cryptocurrency to new users could incentivize them to sign up for new services.

"Given everything that's going on ... it's going to be particularly attractive," he said, referring to the drop in cryptocurrency prices.

The company also added pressure to the ongoing pricing war on crypto transactions,charging 0.10% on transactions under $100,000. In comparison, FTX.US announced that it would lower its price, charging 0.20% on similar transactions — down from 0.40%.

“Last year, we had a very bold plan to get into different business areas, and it was quite a process,”Mikhalchenkosaid. "It's been a wild ride for everyone."