Exchanges

100x leverage is coming to Bitfinex

Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino has teased on Twitter that the popular cryptocurrency exchange will soon offer up to 100x leverage.

At the time of writing, the maximum leverage on Bitfinex is set at just 3.3x. By seasoned margin trading standards, 3.3x leverage is quite tame, with popular crypto derivative exchanges like BitMEX building their reputation on the ability to trade up to 100x leverage.

At this level of leverage, only a 1% move against you would ‘liquidate’ your position – a level of volatility seen most days in the crypto markets.

The maximum leverage used when opening a trade typically refers to the leeway you have to lose on a trade before it gets liquidated. For the 3.3x leverage that Bitfinex operates with today, if you used the maximum leverage and opened a margin short or long (without a stop loss), then the trade would typically confiscate all the margin reserved in the trade if the position moves against you by 30%.

An opt-in feature

According to Ardoino, there will be no change to the current margin trading offering, and trading at the maximum leverage will be an “optional instrument” for Bitfinex traders.

He said the offering will be isolated in order to mitigate the risks that are associated with ultra-high leverage trading.

Traders are able to prevent additional losses by not applying any additional funds from their balance to their margin trading accounts on the Hong Kong-based exchange. The CTO also confirmed that only verified users would be able to use the new feature.

Recent business development recruit Robert Jande Jong (or RJ) also shared a screenshot showing a set of tab options for trading, derivatives, and funding markets as part of the redesigned UI.

Bitcoin coder Udi Wertheimer commented on the move, saying: “Finally, a BitMEX competitor.”

In a nod to the success of the BitMEX referral program, he then asked Bitfinex to “DM me an affiliate link” as he is looking to “monetize my Twitter account and retire”.

For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here.

Nawaz Sulemanji

Nawaz has been hooked on crypto since buying his first Bitcoin’s in 2013. After studying maths in London, Nawaz initially spent the first eight years of his career working globally across corporate supply chain’s before transitioning into the decentralised finance industry as a margin-trader and consultant. He’s a fan of open-blockchains because “it enables self-sovereignty”.