Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), the cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform, might have an annual notional trading volume of approximately $1 trillion.

According to Nic Carter, a well-known crypto analyst and frequent commentator on Twitter, BitMEX’s notional trading volume indicates how important, or impactful, leverage can be when executing cryptocurrency trades. As experienced traders know, leveraging involves borrowing funds in order to place higher bets on the price of assets.

BitMEX “Helpfully Tags” All Its Addresses With 3BMEX

As explained by Carter, BitMEX’s notional trading volume takes into account the actual value of funds being traded on its exchange and the value of leverage. Estimating notional trading volume on BitMEX allows us (arguably) to more accurately determine how the cryptoasset derivatives trading platform operates, including the revenue it generates.

Carter explained that currently one of the main use cases for bitcoin (BTC) is using it to settle bets on its future price. According to the co-founder of Coinmetrics.io (a website that analyzes financial data related to digital assets), BitMEX “gets a lot of flak because they are honest about the business (speculation on bitcoin) and fairly transparent.” However, Carter said he “prefers” trading on BitMEX, or thinks it is a more reliable and trustworthy exchange when compared to others that claim to be “working for the greater good” or “advancing decentralization.”

Carter, who previously worked with Fidelity Investments as the institution’s first cryptoasset analyst, pointed out that: 

Bitmex helpfully tags all their addresses with 3BMEX so you can audit their blockchain impact with oxt. Bitmex is one of the heaviest single users of bitcoin. This leads us to the amusing conclusion that one of the biggest use cases for Bitcoin is the settling of bets between traders regarding Bitcoin itself.