Crypto exchange and derivative trading platform BitMEX announced its entry into the Indian crypto market on Tuesday with its spot trading platform — the BitMEX Spot.The decision to enter India at a time when regulations are stringent and authorities are hostile towards crypto is an interesting one.On one hand, the Indian government is discouraging the use of crypto through heavy taxation, and on the other, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been vociferous in expressing its concerns as well.Another factor makes this launch more interesting.Arthur Hayes, one of the co-founders of BitMEX, has been battling civil and criminal lawsuits filed against him for regulatory violations.These were brought to light when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) filed charges against the Seychelles-based firm in October 2020, followed by a formal indictment from the US Department of Justice (DOJ).According to a press release shared with CryptoPotato, BitMEX is attempting to fulfil the retail investor demand across the regions of Europe, Latin America and APAC through its entry in India.It is also offering rewards for early account openers on its new spot trading platform.These rewards will amount to a total of $1 million in crypto.Also read: Explained: How Terra Founder Do Kwon plans to stir up blockchain platform with new ‘hard fork’“India is one of the most active hubs globally for crypto adoption and not just from a trading perspective, but we are seeing a lot of activity in terms of project development, project rollouts, and actual infrastructural projects within the ecosystem.India is ranked second in the global crypto adoption index.
Given its demography and tech capabilities, India is just impossible to ignore,” explained Jenia Mikhalchenko, Vice-President of Bitmex Spot, in an interview.Mikhalchenko elaborated on the curious timing of the launch and emphasised that it is not possible to accurately determine the right time for a market entry or exit.“This is one of those moments.The fundamentals are all in place in India.It would be silly for us to ignore the market and the opportunity despite what we might see in the short or midterm,” he said.According to the official BitMEX blog, the platform currently features 7 ‘trading pairs’ — XBT/USDT, ETH/USDT, APE/USDT, UNI/USDT, MATIC/USDT, LINK/USDT, and AXS/USDT.Also read: Cryptos could lead to ‘Dollarisation of Economy’, say RBI officials; what does it mean?“But this is just the start for spot trading on BitMEX,” reads the BitMEX blog announcing the release.“More cryptocurrencies and trading pairs — including BMEX tokens — are on their way as we grow our spot exchange and are due to arrive in the coming months.What’s more, users who prefer to trade on-the-go will soon be able to access BitMEX Spot via our new crypto app.More on this to come,” it continues.BitMEX Spot will allow Market Orders as well as Limit Orders.In Market Orders, users can participate in crypto trades at the prevailing market prices.
These are used when traders want to execute their orders instantly.On the other hand, Limit Orders allow users to select their preferred price to make a purchase or sale.When the current market price touches this point, the trade is executed.“Last year, we introduced our Beyond Derivatives strategy, and the launch of BitMEX Spot is the centrepiece of this vision.Today, BitMEX is one step closer to providing our users with a full crypto ecosystem to buy, sell, and trade their favourite digital assets,” said BitMEX CEO Alexander Höpner in a statement.BitMEX is currently 23rd on the list of exchanges by 24-hour trading volume.Over the last 24 hours, its trading volume has dropped 8.64 percent to $735 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.Also read: Stablecoins appear dicey as Tether, USDC, among others, lose their pegs to dollar.