BitMEX is one of the largest crypto trading platforms today and has attracted a giant community of professional traders for all the tools that its interface has and the trading products available.
In fact, BitMEX (although it is going through a complicated legal situation) has been among the exchanges with the highest volume of transactions in the world, competing with other platforms such as Binance, Coinbase and Huobi. For this reason, we will make a small guide for recommendations “Bitmes for beginners”.
Disclaimer: this post should not be considered investment advice. This is only for educational purposes only. Never invest more than what you are able to lose and always ask for information to your professional financial advisors. We are not financial advisors.
BitMEX for Beginners: How to start?
The first thing you should do is enter the official BitMEX platform and create an account by clicking on the “sign in” button. After you confirm your email address and establish a strong password, you can access the platform and explore the options.
BitMEX offers two platforms:
- The real BitMEX platform in which you can deposit funds, which will grow or decrease depending on your performance in the market and you can withdraw profits whenever you want.
- The BitMEX Testnet platform (BitMEX for beginners), where users can log in and trade with the live prices of the cryptocurrency market but you will not be able to make real investments or lose money, since it works as a demo platform. Similar to what many Forex traders know as the MetaTrader demo, the BitMEX Testnet is ideal for users to get up to speed with the exchange’s options and tools.
BitMEX trading products
BitMEX is, before anything else, an exchange focused on trading Bitcoin futures, which means that this platform does not have a spot market, where people buy cryptocurrencies as such and not contracts equivalent to their value. To operate on BitMEX, you will have to strictly adhere to the operation of the contracts available on the platform.
- Perpetual Contracts: Bitcoin contracts in BitMEX are called XBT and can be traded against the USD, although there are also contracts for other cryptocurrencies such as ETH, EOS, LTC, Cardano, etc … These contracts do not have a specific expiration date, rather, they are fulfilled when the order is cancelled or reaches its target.
- Traditional Futures Contracts: BitMEX’s traditional Bitcoin futures contracts are also called XBT and are executed in a specific period of time. Unlike perpetual contracts, this product has a deadline in which the price target is established.
How to set an order in BitMEX?
One of the most important aspects in our BitMEX for Beginners guide is how to position our orders in the market and the different ways to do it.
- Market orders: These orders will execute your entry at the current market price when buying or selling contracts. Being activated instantly, it is recommended to use this type of order at price levels where you can be sure that the price will go in your favor.
- Limit Orders: These orders will be executed at a price below/above the market price, depending on whether it is a long or a short order. The order will be placed at a cheaper point to buy and more expensive to sell, thus favoring the entry point of the trader.
- Stop Orders: Stop orders will be executed once the price touches the levels specified when setting the order regardless of what price level they were placed at. These orders are perfect for taking advantage of trends and are divided into “Stop limit” and “stop market”. Stop Limit are orders that are activated after the price reaches a specific level and then be executed, while stop market orders are executed immediately.
Before positioning your trades with confidence, we remind you that there is a high level of risk in the crypto market due to high levels of volatility. However, you can get help from our crypto trading signals at Altsignals, which are recognized for their high level of accuracy.
