Discussions about cryptocurrency futures trading have been ongoing for years. Since 2014, when BitMEX and OKCoin introduced cryptocurrency futures trading, nearly six years have passed. The futures trading market has long been dominated by BitMEX and OKEx. Late last year, Huobi hastily launched its outsourced futures trading product amid operational challenges, aiming to create new profit growth and alleviate imminent cash flow pressures.
Market Overview: Transparency and Trading Volume
A recent Forbes article referenced a July 2019 report by Alameda Research titled "Real Trading Volume in Cryptocurrency Exchanges." The report examined the authenticity of trading volumes across major exchanges, including OKEx, BitMEX, and Huobi. According to the data, OKEx, Huobi, and BitMEX exhibited 100% authentic trading volumes, ranking them as the top three exchanges in spot and futures trading.
Alameda Research is one of the largest liquidity providers in the cryptocurrency secondary market, having facilitated Binance’s sale of 7,500 BTC across global exchanges. Their methodology involved six distinct metrics to verify trading volume authenticity across dozens of exchanges.
Given the objectivity of Alameda’s data, we’ve used it as a reference for this analysis. This article evaluates market depth across three major exchanges—BitMEX, OKEx, and Huobi—by examining user base, futures trading volume, candlestick handling, and liquidation issues.
During our research, we identified critical discrepancies in Huobi’s futures trading, particularly in candlestick manipulation and market depth misrepresentation.
Key Metrics Comparison
1. User Base: BitMEX = OKEx > Huobi
BitMEX and OKEx, as seasoned futures trading platforms, emerged victorious from the intense competition between 2014 and 2016. Their trading volumes and user bases are comparable, collectively accounting for over 80% of global futures trading volume for an extended period.
- BitMEX: Primarily serves institutional traders (B2B) with advanced trading engines and API integrations. Its minimalist interface caters to professionals.
- OKEx: Targets both institutional traders and retail investors (B2C), offering versatile trading services.
- Huobi: As a newcomer, Huobi’s user base consists mainly of retail traders. Despite rapid growth, its institutional and quantitative fund participation lags behind BitMEX and OKEx.
👉 Explore institutional trading tools
2. Futures Trading Volume: BitMEX = OKEx >> Huobi
- BitMEX: Serves non-U.S./Canadian users, primarily in Europe. Strict regulatory compliance minimizes data manipulation risks.
- OKEx: Enhances transparency via its "Futures Big Data" dashboard, displaying metrics like open interest, long/short ratios, and elite trader positions.
- Huobi: Registered in Seychelles, Huobi lacks transparency. Its unique "double-counting" method inflates reported trading volumes—unverified by Alameda’s report.
Adjusting for standard industry calculations (dividing Huobi’s volume by 2), OKEx and BitMEX’s futures trading volumes are 2.2x higher than Huobi’s.
| Exchange | Adjusted Futures Volume | Transparency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BitMEX | High | High | Non-U.S. focus |
| OKEx | High | Very High | Real-time data |
| Huobi | Low | Low | Double-counting |
3. Candlestick Handling: BitMEX = OKEx >>> Huobi
Liquidation and price spikes ("wicking") are critical indicators of market depth. Comparing these across exchanges reveals stark differences:
- BitMEX/OKEx: Liquidations are executed on the open market, reflected in candlesticks.
- Huobi: Liquidations are internally matched, omitting true liquidation prices from candlesticks. This artificially reduces visible price spikes.
Example: A user reported an LTC liquidation at 39.903 USD, while Huobi’s candlestick showed a low of 40.000 USD—a clear discrepancy.
4. Price Spikes: BitMEX = OKEx >> Huobi
Analyzing BTC futures during volatile periods (May 17, 2019):
- OKEx: Spike low at 7,001.00 USD
- Huobi: Spike low at 6,791.71 USD
- BitMEX: Spike low at 6,380.00 USD
Huobi’s "optimized" candlesticks obscure true market depth. Evidence suggests Huobi even deleted extreme spikes (e.g., ETH leverage hitting 100–1,400 USD on May 24, 2019).
FAQs
1. Which exchange has the deepest futures market?
BitMEX and OKEx lead in market depth, with Huobi lagging due to opaque practices.
2. Why does Huobi’s trading volume seem inflated?
Huobi uses "double-counting" (counting buy/close as two trades), unlike industry standards.
3. Are Huobi’s candlesticks reliable?
No. Huobi excludes liquidation prices from candlesticks, masking true volatility.
👉 Compare real-time futures data
Conclusion
Huobi’s futures market depth significantly trails BitMEX and OKEx, exacerbated by manipulative practices like candlestick "optimization." While new entrants could reshape the futures landscape, Huobi’s credibility issues hinder its competitiveness. For transparent, deep markets, traders should prioritize BitMEX or OKEx.
### Key Enhancements:
- **SEO Optimization**: Integrated 7 core keywords (e.g., "futures trading," "market depth," "BitMEX," "OKEx," "Huobi," "candlestick manipulation," "liquidation").
- **Structure**: Logical headings, Markdown tables, and bullet points improve readability.
- **Anchor Texts**: Added 2 engaging CTAs linking to OKEx.
- **FAQs**: Included 3 Q&A pairs to address user queries.