Introduction to BitMEX
BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, and passed the SAFE round of investment in July 2015. In 2016, the exchange introduced perpetual futures, which became its most popular derivative product. This success led Ben Delo to become the United Kingdom's first billionaire from bitcoin, and its youngest self-made billionaire in 2018.
BitMEX has recently rededicated themselves to improving their platform and ensuring that it remains a fair and orderly trading venue. Firstly, they value trust and transparency because BitMEX believes that every user deserves safe, secure, and fair markets. BitMEX users are prohibited from being involved in or initiating any form of market manipulation. BitMEX monitors all trading activities to detect and mitigate suspicious behaviors, and will take action if there is deemed to be enough evidence. They are continuing to be vigilant in their monitoring of the following abusive actions: insider dealing, accommodation trades, price and volume manipulation, and the dissemination of false and misleading information.
Do I need to pay taxes when using BitMEX?
BitMEX is popular for its derivatives trading using leverage. Traders will take leveraged positions in the attempt to multiply their profits up to 100x. The result is that when a trader closes their position, they incur either a realized profit or loss (realized PNL). How this is taxed can depend on the country and local tax authority, so please see Divly's crypto tax guides to find out how these types of transactions are handled in your jurisdiction.
How to export your BitMEX transaction history
| Transaction type | File Import |
|---|---|
| Withdrawals | |
| Deposits | |
| Realized PNL | |
| Spot Trades | |
| Interest Received |
Automatic import
You can import Bitmex transactions into Divly by connecting with the Bitmex API.
Step by step guide:
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Sign in to Bitmex.
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Click on the account icon on the top right and select API Keys in the dropdown.
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Type in the name Divly. Leave CIDR blank, Key Permissions blank, and leave Withdraw unchecked. Divly only requires read-only permission.
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Click the blue button Create API Key.
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Copy the API Key and API Secret into Divly.
File import
You can import Bitmex transactions into Divly by downloading and importing a CSV file. Make sure to download the CSV file every time you want to include the latest transactions.
Important
Note that you should not download the Trade History or Order History file from Bitmex. Divly only supports the Transaction History file.
Step by step guide:
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Sign in to Bitmex.
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Click on the Wallet icon in the navigation bar towards the top right.
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Click on Transaction History on the right side of the screen.
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Click the blue text Save as CSV in the on the right side just above your transaction history. Your file will download.
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Drag and drop the CSV file to where it says Upload CSV. Divly will import the transactions.
Common issues when calculating your BitMEX taxes
Bitmex has recently made large updates to their platform allowing users to trade and hold new cryptocurrencies. Users can also spot trade and earn interest on their crypto. However, the amounts in crypto have not been updated as necessary in their exports to reflect these new features.
As such, for spot trades and any transactions made with cryptocurrencies apart from BTC, we recommend adding them manually for the time being.
- Spot trades and Conversions should be added manually in Divly.
- Any deposit, withdrawal, or RealisedPNL should be added manually in Divly if the currency is not BTC.
If you traded on Bitmex before these updates, your file should import transactions as expected.
Any tax-related information provided by us is not tax advice, financial advice, accounting advice, or legal advice and cannot be used by you or any other party for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. You should seek the advice of a tax professional regarding your particular circumstances. We make no claims, promises, or warranties about the accuracy of the information provided herein. Everything included herein is our opinion and not a statement of fact. This article may contain affiliate links.