BitMEX's Legacy Lives On in Perpetual Swaps

BitMEX's most influential product has come to an end. The company will shut down on September 23, but its Bitcoin perpetual swap, XBTUSD, is not going quietly into the night.

Launched in May 2016 with a leverage of up to $100 for every $1 invested, XBTUSD revolutionized the way traders bet on Bitcoin. Unlike traditional futures contracts that expire on fixed dates, XBTUSD had no expiry date, keeping traders in one continuous market instead of splitting liquidity between different contracts.

BitMEX also introduced a funding system to keep the contract close to Bitcoin's spot price, and later raised the leverage ceiling to 250x for users who activated its Leverage Booster feature. The model spread quickly, with major exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Hyperliquid now running their own versions.

The design is pushing into ordinary stock markets as well. Kalshi has filed with US regulators to list stock index perpetual futures, and Kraken's parent company plans to bring Hyperliquid perpetuals for Americans through a regulated venue.