VICTORIA, Seychelles, Jan. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BitMEX, one of the safest exchanges, today announced the launch of Equity Perps, a new derivatives product that allows traders to gain exposure to major U.S. stocks and equity indices using cryptocurrency as collateral. The launch expands BitMEX’s product suite beyond crypto-native markets, enabling 24/7 trading on traditional equity benchmarks, including when U.S. stock markets are closed.
Equity Perps are cash-settled perpetual swap contracts that track the price of individual U.S. stocks or indices and do not have an expiry date. Similar to BitMEX’s existing crypto perpetuals, the contracts use a funding rate mechanism to anchor prices to the underlying reference index. Traders can take long or short positions with up to 20x leverage, using assets such as Bitcoin or Tether as margin collateral.
“Equity Perps give traders a more flexible way to access U.S. equity markets using crypto,” said Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX. “By removing traditional market hours and allowing crypto collateral, we are extending our derivatives expertise to a broader set of global markets while maintaining the reliability and performance BitMEX is known for.”
At launch, Equity Perps are available on a selection of widely traded U.S. stocks and indices, including Amazon, Apple, Circle, Coinbase, Meta, Nvidia, Robinhood, Tesla, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq. BitMEX plans to expand the range of available contracts over time. Trading is open 24/7, with index pricing during U.S. market hours based primarily on real-time equity prices and, outside those hours, supported by tokenized spot prices from multiple exchanges.
All Equity Perps trades on BitMEX feature a maker rebate of 2.5 basis points and a taker fee of 7.5 basis points. Funding is exchanged every eight hours, consistent with BitMEX’s existing perpetual swap products, regardless of U.S. equity market hours. In the event of corporate actions such as stock splits, affected contracts will be settled early and relisted once the action is complete.
To mark the launch, BitMEX is offering a 70,000 USDT prize pool for eligible users who trade Equity Perps, alongside maker rebates on all Equity Perps contracts. Additional educational resources and product guides are available through the BitMEX website and blog.
About BitMEX
BitMEX is the OG crypto derivatives exchange, providing professional crypto traders with a platform that caters to their needs with low latency, deep crypto native and especially BTC liquidity and unmatched reliability.
Since its founding, no cryptocurrency has been lost through intrusion or hacking, allowing BitMEX users to trade with confidence that their funds are secure and that they have access to the products and tools required to be profitable.
BitMEX was also among the first exchanges to publish on chain Proof of Reserves and Proof of Liabilities data. The exchange continues to publish this data twice a week, providing assurance that customer funds are safely stored and segregated.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d4b16bbb-2799-4091-a181-bab1f01bde72
