BitMEX celebrates its 11th anniversary – a leading cryptocurrency exchange.

Mahe, Seychelles, November 24, 2025 – BitMEX , the exchange that has helped define modern cryptocurrency trading, celebrates its 11th anniversary today. To honor the traders who have contributed to the exchange and the industry's development since 2014, BitMEX is proud to release “ 11 Insights from 11 Years of Experience ,” a curated selection of valuable lessons learned over more than a decade at the forefront of the digital asset market.

11 Years of Glory: How BitMEX Helps Build the Modern Cryptocurrency Trading System

BitMEX's development is inextricably linked to the history of cryptocurrency itself. From inventing the world's first perpetual contract to pioneering 100x leverage and becoming one of the early advocates of proof-of-reserve mechanisms, BitMEX has consistently been at the forefront of the industry. As markets have undergone cyclical changes, various trends, and reshaping, BitMEX has remained true to its founding principle: building a platform for traders, not chasing hype. Today, BitMEX continues to advance this mission, expanding the use of professional tools, including copy trading, trading bots, and advanced derivatives, while maintaining its commitment to transparency, resilience, and technological excellence.

“BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz stated , “BitMEX has withstood every market cycle because we have always adhered to principles, rather than chasing trends. In my three years as CEO, I have witnessed market reshaping time and again. Many exchanges have risen and fallen, and we have seen many changes, but BitMEX has always remained true to its core values. We have always stuck to our principles, remained resilient, and put traders first. I have never been more proud to lead this company. The past few years have taught me that when markets are turbulent, traders return to stable, neutral, and time-tested platforms. I am proud of what my team has achieved and look forward to the future.”

11 Years of Experience Summary: Everything Our Ten Years of Frontline Experience Taught Us

To celebrate its 11th anniversary, BitMEX has distilled its valuable experience, market challenges, and technological breakthroughs over the past decade into 11 key insights, candidly exploring the truly important factors in cryptocurrency trading. Highlights include:

1. At the core of everything is always Bitcoin.

Each cycle confirms the same truth: Bitcoin remains the only asset that can consistently surpass its all-time high price, thanks to its perfect monetary design and decentralized origins.

2. Perpetual contracts are the greatest financial invention of the 21st century.

Before BitMEX launched perpetual contracts, cryptocurrency derivatives were like defective products. Perpetual contracts solved the fundamental limitations of traditional futures and have become the most actively traded product in the cryptocurrency space. True innovation endures.

3. Safety is not a product, but a practice. Trust cannot be bought; it must be earned day by day.

BitMEX's 100% cold storage and multi-signature withdrawal model, while slow and inconvenient, are precisely the reasons for its success. Eleven years later, the lessons remain unchanged: security is not just a feature, but a philosophy built on uncompromising trade-offs.

4. Is your counterparty the market or an exchange?

Many exchanges still have internal market-making departments—this structural conflict allows them to control customer traffic and clearing levels. BitMEX is structured very differently: there is no proprietary trading desk, and no internal department. A neutral trading venue is the only fair trading venue.

5. The cryptocurrency market remains fragmented.

The cryptocurrency market is not a unified pool of funds, but rather composed of numerous liquidity silos. As we highlighted in our Q1 2025 Derivatives report , some tokens listed on exchanges saw their prices surge on their first day, only to plummet rapidly afterward. BitMEX's listing strategy has consistently demonstrated stronger and more sustainable performance because a true market requires true liquidity.

6. The real risk is not forced liquidation, but automatic reduction of positions (ADL).

Forced liquidation is predictable, but auto-liquidation is not. Even profitable traders can be forced to liquidate when the market crashes faster than insurance funds can react. BitMEX's auto-liquidation system does not grant privileges to any trader in the queue; it is the result of years of system development designed to ensure fairness in trading under pressure.

7. Fair price mark: A defense against market manipulation for perpetual contract traders.

It pioneers the concept of a fair price tag, protecting traders' positions by anchoring the tag price to a composite index rather than a single source. Manipulators would need to disrupt the global spot market, not just a single trading venue, to influence prices. This provides the ultimate defense for highly leveraged traders.

8. Leverage equals freedom.

BitMEX introduced 100x leverage with a non-recourse liquidation mechanism, meaning a trader's losses will never exceed the amount they have staked. This makes large-scale trading, previously only accessible to institutions, more accessible to the general public, while also demanding a level of discipline and precision that most traders underestimate.

9. The four-year Bitcoin cycle is not over.

As we discussed in our recent article, "The Four-Year Cycle Isn't Over," each cycle gives rise to new "this time is different" narratives, but leverage, human psychology, and halving-driven supply constraints continue to reshape markets with predictable volatility. The ETF era hasn't changed its fundamental operating mechanism; the cycle still exists and operates exactly as designed.

10. Beware of high-yield stablecoin traps.

Some "stablecoins" are not stable at all; they are actually leveraged yield scams that could collapse at any time. Terra/LUNA, xUSD, and USDX all follow the same pattern: artificially inflated returns mask an unsustainable mechanism. High returns are always a warning sign, not an advantage.

11. Do not confuse product packaging with the asset itself.

ETFs, digital asset treasury bills, and structured product packaging offer new investment avenues, but they also come with various fees, incentives, and premium/discount mechanisms, which often cause them to underperform the cryptocurrencies they track. Product packaging is a business model; an asset is an asset. Traders must understand the difference between the two.

Please see the full report linked here.

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About BitMEX

BitMEX is a pioneer in cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, providing professional cryptocurrency traders with a platform that meets their needs, featuring low latency, deep cryptocurrency-native liquidity (especially Bitcoin liquidity), and unparalleled reliability.

Since its inception, BitMEX has never experienced any cryptocurrency loss due to intrusion or hacking, allowing users to trade with peace of mind without worrying about the safety of their funds. Users also have access to a variety of products and tools needed to generate profits.

BitMEX was also one of the first exchanges to publish on-chain proof-of-reserve and proof-of-liability data. The exchange publishes this data twice a week to demonstrate its ability to securely store and segregate entrusted funds.

For more information about BitMEX, please visit the BitMEX blog or www.bitmex.com , and follow us on Discord , Telegram , and Twitter . For any questions, please contact press@bitmex.com .