BitMEX, one of the leading crypto derivatives exchange, is set to launch XRP perpetual Swaps on February 5.
Announced on Twitter, the derivatives giant will offer Leverage of up to 50x for the XRP/USD swap contract. The decision was not abrupt as the platform already announced the creation of such a contract last month.
We at BitMEX are proud to announce that trading of a new perpetual swap on the XRP token (XRPUSD) will begin at 0400 UTC on 5 February 2020.
— BitMEX (@BitMEXdotcom) February 4, 2020
Despite being the third-largest digital currency in terms of market cap, XRP is facing criticisms from the community for its resemblance to securities. The centralized structure of the currency also faced backlash.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder and CEO of BitMEX, also addressed this and stressed on the trading opportunity with the token.
Is it called Ripple, XRP, or dogshit? Who knows, who cares. It’s worth more than zero so it’s time to trade the USD pair on BitMEX. Boo-Yaka-sha! https://t.co/pa3T5vd5kl
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) February 4, 2020
However, the announcement didn’t make much impact on the market as each XRP token is trading at $0.25 apiece, being almost flat in the past 24 hours. The coin, however, gained 7 percent in the week from the overall bull run in the market.
Derivatives everywhere
Perpetual contracts are becoming very popular in the crypto industry lately. These instruments are very similar to traditional futures contracts and grant investors the ability to profit from selling digital assets, either short or long, similar to futures contracts. However, unlike futures contracts, perpetual contracts have no expiration date.
Many major platforms, including Bithumb, Gate.io, and Liquid, are betting big on such contracts, especially with the increasing demand for crypto derivatives.
Also today, Binance Futures, the derivative-focused platform of the crypto exchange, announced the addition of ZEC/USDT swap support.
#Binance Futures Will Launch $ZEC/USDT Perpetual Contract With Up to 50x Leveragehttps://t.co/R83gj10hA2 pic.twitter.com/ccS9gjobHW
— Binance (@binance) February 4, 2020
The platform also beat BitMEX in listing XRP perpetual, as last month, it added XRP/USDT contract with a maximum leverage of 75x. Other platforms like Delta and BaseFEX are also listing similar XRP-based instruments.
