One of the most used cryptocurrency exchanges, BitMEX, has hit a record one million bitcoin traded in a single day. Co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes gave CoinJournal his thoughts on why, and what the near future might hold.
“After dipping below $6,000, Bitcoin is rallying aggressively”, said Hayes, who like many others in the crypto-space is celebrating the upturn. “It is a relief rally, and volumes are rising as well. Many traders believe we reached a bottom, and it is time to rejoin the party.”
Over the 24-hour period ending July 24, 2018, BitMEX saw an industry record breaking one million Bitcoin’s trading on its platform. The volume broke BitMEX’s previously held crypto-industry record of 800,000 bitcoin traded within 24-hours.
“The astronomical surge in trading volume, coupled with the steadily rising price of bitcoin, is reflective of the market’s increasingly sophisticated understanding of the potential of bitcoin to redefine global markets”, said Hayes. BitMEX also attributed the increase to ongoing capacity increases accomplished by scaling its engine architecture.
Hayes is bullish on the market, seeing the volume upturn as a sign of things to come.
“The record that BitMEX has set marks a major milestone in the cryptocurrency industry’s overall path to maturation.”
CoinJournal asked BitMEX what the next six-months might bring for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency markets. Like many others, Hayes believes the pending approval of the first bitcoin-based exchange traded fund (ETF) by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is what investors are waiting for to signal the next major cryptocurrency boom.
“Everyone will focus on whether the SEC will allow a Bitcoin ETF. There are a few key decision dates in the upcoming 6 months”, said Hayes.
BitMEX, established in 2014, was also the first cryptocurrency trading platform to hit a 24-hour daily trading volume of over $1 billion dollars USD. It has the most liquidity in the world for its XMT/USD pair, with reportedly 1500% more Bitcoin to USD liquidity than any other platform.
Its mission is to “professionalize the trading of bitcoin derivatives.” BitMEX also offers the ability to trade futures contracts for other coins including BCH, Ethereum, Tron, and Ripple.
We asked Hayes: What’s next for BitMEX? Hayes revealed a few key plans including improving its trading technology to support even greater trading volumes.
“On the product side, BitMEX will soon launch a 50x leveraged Ether / USD Perpetual Swap margined in Bitcoin, symbol ETHUSD”, said Hayes. “BitMEX aims to create another liquidity monster like the Bitcoin / USD perpetual swap, symbol XBTUSD.”
Despite bitcoin’s price falling back somewhat today, the optimism in the cryptocurrency sector is not yet abating.
