Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, which recently traded a record 1 million bitcoin in 24 hours, recently added ETH/USD futures without any major announcement. The trading pair was spotted by traders, who believe this may become the most liquid ETH/USD pair on the market.
At 11 am UTC, BitMEX’s chief executive officer Arthur Hayes announced the trading pairs to his 22,800 Twitter followers.
50x leveraged ETHUSD perpetual swap is now live! Trade using only #Bitcoin, you never have to touch #Ether or #USD https://t.co/rfBv094y2D
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) August 2, 2018
The futures contract let traders enter short or long positions – betting for or against the cryptocurrency – with a leverage of up to 50x. This means that with only 1 ETH, at press time worth little under $410, a trader can enter a position with 50 ETH, while risking liquidation.
The trading platform has been offering traders ETH/BTC futures for some time, but the pair doesn’t let traders easily take advantage of arbitrage opportunities or use the platform to hedge a position on the market.
High Leverage and Huge Liquidity
BitMEX notably rose to prominence for offering cryptocurrency traders leverage of up to 100x on its BTC/USD futures contracts. Given the flagship cryptocurrency’s volatility, such a high level of leverage allows traders to make unprecedented profits, or quickly see their positions get liquidated.
According to available data the exchange’s BTC/USD trading pair is the most liquid in the world, with a 24-hour trading volume of over $3.5 billion. Being a derivative, the pair is made to replicate the spot BTC market, with its perpetual contracts being physically settled once traders close their positions.
Taking this data into account, some traders now believe the ETH/USD pair may become the most liquid on the market.
Bitmex just launched $ETHUSD perpetual contracts. They'll likely become #1 in volume for the $ETH market, just as Bitmex is for $BTC.
The same mechanics apply to the new ETH contracts as to $XBTUSD. See below to learn about how they work. https://t.co/Nx9bzA8kdN
— Aurelius (@AureliusBTC) August 2, 2018
As CryptoGlobe recently covered, the exchange has been adding various futures contracts to its platform. In early June it added EOS futures ahead of the cryptocurrency’s mainnet launch, with up to 20x leverage. Later that month, it added TRON (TRX) futures “due to popular demand.”
Notably, Arthur Hayes is a well-known bitcoin bull. Earlier, he revealed he sees the flagship cryptocurrency hit $50,000 by the end this year, a price prediction he stood by after bitcoin’s price fell below $5,900.
This week, speaking to CNBC’s Hayes noted he believes a bitcoin ETF will be passed by the end of this year, a decision seemingly necessary for his price prediction to come true. The CEO revealed he came to his conclusion after browsing through the US Securuties and Exchange Commission’s website.
