Trading cryptocurrency with leverage has become increasingly popular, and now more than ever is in exceedingly high demand with the sad state of the crypto market in 2018, continuing well into 2019.
In traditional forex and equity markets, no matter the market's trend, there is always a profit to be made by utilizing this advanced trading strategy, in addition to ‘shorting’. Meanwhile, high leverage opportunities and short positions are yet rarely offered in the crypto landscape.
Two main players stand to offer as much as 100x leverage and the ability to short crypto-assets:
BitMEX and Prime XBT
Both industry-leading high leverage providers have distinct advantages and disadvantages when compared to one another. So let’s take a closer look...
BitMEX Pros
BitMEX was established in 2014 and has therefore been in operation for several years now, giving the platform the upper hand as far as experience goes.
BitMEX has some of the highest liquidity on the crypto market for Bitcoin specifically.
Allows the rare opportunity to utilize 100x and short positions on Bitcoin trades.
A wide variety of advanced order types as opposed to just market and limit orders as offered by most major exchanges.
Competitively low commission fees on Bitcoin trades at 0.075%.
No KYC requirements.
BitMEX Cons
The platform only takes deposits and pays withdrawals in Bitcoin, and only allows for 100x leverage against Bitcoin also - thus eliminating the ability to diversify risk.
The platform only handles Bitcoin, with no alternative payment methods in fiat or other cryptos.
BitMEX plays host to an ‘epileptic’, or excessively flashy and distracting order book which all too often encounters their dreaded “order submission error”. This is often a costly issue that means that users miss out on time-sensitive trade opportunities.
Bitcoin aside, the commission fees are significantly higher on all other cryptocurrency trades at 0.25%.
Prime XBT Pros
PrimeXBT also offers up to 100x leverage and shorting, however, in addition to BitMEX this leverage is available on all asset pairs, which include: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, and EOS, so far.
The platform accepts payments in a wide array of cryptocurrencies as well as USD and EUR, thanks to its integrated support by Changelly.
The Prime XBT user-interface is first-in-class, with a simplistic yet highly sophisticated design that is customizable to suit the individual trader’s needs and visual preference. Also featuring optional multi-monitor support for professional traders and a clean, crisp, and reliable order book.
The lowest commission fees on all assets at only 0.05%.
Aggregated liquidity from 12 different leading providers, ensuring the best possible price and instant order execution - as if you were trading on 12 exchanges at once.
No KYC requirements.
Prime XBT Cons
The main disadvantage of Prime XBT at this early stage is it’s youth, having only launched in early Feb 2019 - therefore the platform is yet to earn the respect of the crypto community which can only be achieved by its reputable actions.
Only time will tell, however, it’s safe to say that Prime XBT is off to a flying start by offering the exact same highly demanded features as BitMEX, but with a greater range of assets, options and lower fees.
Now it’s up to the crypto community to decide which high leverage provider is the most beneficial and ultimately which allows for a more profitable and enjoyable trading experience.
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