Margin trading terminal to add new fiat currencies and digital assets

There are hundreds of crypto exchanges in existence — but often, they all offer the exact same products. All of this can be nothing short of frustrating for traders as their needs don’t end up being met.

But now, one platform is shaking things up by becoming one of the few exchanges worldwide to offer a margin trading terminal. WhiteBIT also says its top priority is catering to underserved markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Europe.

WhiteBIT’s terminal is initially offering up to 5x leverage, meaning traders can borrow funds and potentially amplify returns if their strategies are successful. In the not-too-distant future, this is going to be enhanced further to 10x.

The company boasts a team of more than 100 blockchain specialists, and executives say more new features are in the pipeline.

Over the coming months, the WhiteBIT margin trading terminal is going to add support for top digital assets including Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar and Ethereum — in addition to the already existing smart staking for USDT, Bitcoin and Dash. In what is described as a world first, the centralized platform’s margin terminal will also support local currencies including the Russian ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia. The company is in the final stages of developing a derivatives platform too, as well as a decentralized exchange known as WhiteSWAP.

WhiteBIT’s ambition is to give crypto traders much greater levels of choice, and the freedom to select a platform that best matches their requirements. At present, few margin terminals exist in the marketplace, meaning it’s a sector that’s ripe for expansion.

“Understanding our end customer while building different financial products for each target audience segment gives us a footprint for realizing the great potential of cryptocurrency,” WhiteBIT CEO Vladimir Nosov told Cointelegraph.

One crucial step is reducing the friction that users experience when making crypto deposits and withdrawals. The exchange, which is licensed in Europe, achieves this by enabling users to withdraw up to 2 BTC without the need for Know Your Customer checks while staying compliant with EU regulations.

The importance of alternatives

According to WhiteBIT, choice has never been more important in the crypto sector. Twin controversies rocked the industry and shook trader confidence recently. Bitcoin reserves on BitMEX fell sharply after criminal charges were filed against its executives, while OKEx suffered a backlash after suddenly suspending withdrawals because one of its key custodians was cooperating with an investigation.

WhiteBIT said it saw a big number of new registrations on its platform — and an uptick in the number of people using its margin trading terminal — in light of the BitMEX disruption.

PhD graduates, senior programmers and mathematicians are among those who work at WhiteBIT, which is based in Ukraine. The company says it takes pride in the strength of its tech team, who are striving to solve some of the key problems facing the market as a whole.

"Every company in the blockchain space is working hard to bring mass adoption,” Nosov added. “The hybrid model of banking and crypto products is the key to further market development. We need to stop focusing on the speculative side and start working on the market structuring to allow large corporations enter the market with less risk and bring their resources to the industry."

Indeed, institutional investors are a hot-button topic in the sector right now, with the likes of Grayscale Investments, MicroStrategy and Square all snapping up sizable amounts of BTC in recent months.

Nosov added: “Now is the time when we are able to build the right bridge between centralization and decentralization, and between the cryptocurrency market and banking industry, to digitize and enhance all financial products.”