With a potential recession around the corner, markets are on fire and more volatile than ever. This environment is hell for long term investors, but heaven for active traders who can profit from the violent up and down movements fueled by longs closing and shorts covering rapidly, along with the regular push and pull of the market buying and selling dynamics.
Traders can further amplify the profit generated during the volatility by trading with leverage. Platforms that offer margin trading are more popular than spot exchanges and for good reason. And they have become particularly popular in the cryptocurrency industry over the last two years.
Leverage allows traders to gear their trades and take position sizes much larger than what their capital traditionally allows for. This not only multiplies the capital put on the line but any profits generated by the amount of leverage applied to the position.
Diamond in the Rough: What Margin Trading Platform Is Right For You?
But because margin trading platforms have become extremely popular, there are dozens across the crypto market to choose from, each offering a unique competitive feature set.
Margin works the same no matter the platform, so it is the other bells and whistles, trading tools, customer service, reputation and the like that will attract traders and keep them coming back again and again.
The Best Platforms to Trade Bitcoin With Leverage
We’ve narrowed down a list of the very best platforms offering margin trading, in a competitive crypto market comparison, to better assist you in sifting through the dirt to find the diamond in the rough.
KuMex
KuMex is a relatively new perpetual contract and futures trading platform, built by the team behind the KuCoin spot trading cryptocurrency exchange.
The same reputation that KuCoin is known for spills over into the margin trading platform, complete with top-notch customer service and stable performance.
Where the platform suffers slightly is due to the lack of variety offered by the platform. Only two contracts are offered at up to 100x leverage.
Still, the simple to use interface and lack of KYC remain very strong reasons to give the platform a try. Users also rave about the Lite version of the site, further simplifying the experience.
PrimeXBT
PrimeXBT is a Bitcoin-based margin trading platform that claims it was built on decades of traditional market experience and provides proof by the way of the platform’s advanced trading tools, built-in charting software, and a plethora of trading instruments, including crypto, forex, commodities, stock indexes, and gold and silver. Few platforms offer such variety, and access to traditional markets during this volatility is a major bonus.
Cryptocurrencies are offered at an industry-best 100x leverage, however, leverage on other assets gets up to 1000x, which is common with forex currencies and other, less volatile assets.
Like KuMex, no KYC process is required, adding a layer of privacy that crypto traders prefer. PrimeXBT, however, is all about profit and offers additional opportunities to generate revenue with CPA offers and a referral program, savings through a progressive discount system, and innovative features that give traders an edge.
The platform was also recently honored in an independent customer service review of top cryptocurrency exchanges and took home four finance industry awards.
BitMEX
BitMEX isn’t a platform known for its customer service or stability, but it is the most popular in the cryptocurrency market with the deepest liquidity.
The platform gained fame during the crypto bear market for allowing traders to short Bitcoin with leverage and pioneered the margin trading trend in the space.
Today, the platform remains an industry leader because it offers a large variety of crypto trading contracts and a mix of margin levels to choose from, ranging from 10x to 100x.
The referral program is also strong simply due to the platform’s notoriety and the fact that it offers any users signing up via a referral link a discount on trading fees for a period of time.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex is yet another old-timer in the crypto space, but that’s never a bad thing – it means its stood the test of time when it comes to Bitcoin margin trading. That’s not something many platforms can do in such a new industry.
Bitfinex has great liquidity and is said to be a preferred platform for crypto “whales” due to a preference for the platform’s low 3.3x max leverage.
The platform offers a variety of crypto assets to choose from, and also offers its own utility token, the UNUS SED LEO, which enables unique benefits such as access to newly launching initial exchange tokens.
The biggest stain on Bitfinex, however, is an association with the controversial stablecoin cryptocurrency Tether, as the two businesses share the same parent company.
Binance
Binance was the poster child of the crypto industry for a long time, but some recent trust issues have left traders second-guessing the platform that has been known for its protecting users’ funds and keeping them “safe.”
Regardless of the politics involved, Binance offers a stellar trading platform, well rounded with many trading options and a variety of cryptocurrencies to trade with margin in addition to Bitcoin itself.
Margin levels vary depending on the type of contract, from 2x, to 125x on futures. Binance is also known for its liquidity, stable and reliable trading engine, and its Binance Coin utility token.
Stacking Up Sats With These Margin Trading Platforms
Bitcoin could see explosive growth after the asset’s halving, but first, it must withstand the volatility across the wider financial market driven by panic and uncertainty.
Whatever the course it takes, traders can profit from the trend using margin trading platforms like the ones listed here, to long or short Bitcoin with leverage and turn the asset’s notorious volatility into the greatest possible financial opportunity.
Choosing the platform right for you is a matter of personal preference and taste. Try each platform for yourself with the platform’s minimum deposit and experience first-hand what each platform offers for tools, leverage, customer service, and instruments, and you will find your diamond in the rough.