BitMEX Ends XBTUSD Trading, Closing Era of Influential Cryptocurrency Contract

BitMEX has terminated the XBTUSD perpetual futures contract, ending one of the most influential trading products in cryptocurrency history. The Bitcoin contract operated for over a decade and became the standard for the perpetual futures market dominating crypto trading today.

BitMEX itself plans to cease operations on September 23. However, the product it created has spread widely across exchanges.

XBTUSD launched on May 13, 2016, allowing investment in Bitcoin without an expiration date. Traditional futures contracts expire on fixed dates, but XBTUSD had no expiry, enabling traders to stay within a single continuous market rather than having liquidity dispersed across multiple contracts.

To maintain pricing close to the spot Bitcoin price, BitMEX introduced a funding mechanism that charged investors favoring one side of the market to pay those on the opposite side. Leverage was later added, with initial maximum leverage at 100x and increased to 250x in April 2024 for users who activated the Leverage Booster feature.

The model quickly spread, with exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Hyperliquid offering their own versions. BitMEX states that perpetual contracts now account for over 75% of total cryptocurrency trading volume.

Now extending beyond crypto, Kalshi has applied to U.S. regulators in August to launch perpetual index futures, while Kraken's parent company plans to offer Hyperliquid-style perpetual contracts through regulated venues for U.S. traders.

In its final post, BitMEX stated: '12 years. Zero customer fund losses.' This refers to no losses from security breaches, not trading losses. For example, Celsius filed a lawsuit against five BitMEX entities on September 12 related to a $6,360 Bitcoin loss during the March 2020 crash.

XBTUSD is gone, but the market structure it created continues to expand. The perpetual swap design is now spreading into traditional stock markets as well.