OKEx Undergoes Maintenance, Becomes Top BTC Futures Exchange

Published at: March 13, 2020

OKEx completed a short maintenance yesterday at a time of great volatility in the cryptocurrency market. The exchange also just recently overtook competitor BitMEX and became the top Bitcoin futures trading platform.

On Mar. 12, OKEx announced that the platform would be down for system maintenance starting at midnight UTC for about half an hour. Later the same day, the exchange announced that trading activity had resumed.

The maintenance took place at a time of great volatility in the cryptocurrency market which was accompanied by unusually high volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitcoin (BTC) started Mar. 12 at nearly $8,000 and ended the day at around $5,300.

Bitcoin 2-day chart. Source: Coin360

OKEx adapting to high trading volumes?

According to cryptocurrency market data website CoinGecko, on Mar. 12 OKEx saw a high of $3.1 billion in trading volume, a nearly 160% increase compared to the day before. In recent months, the exchange was already managing higher-than-usual volumes.

OKEx trading volumes. Source: CoinGecko

Furthermore, OKEx recently overtook BitMEX as the crypto exchange with the highest Bitcoin futures volume, according to Skew. The exchange leads by over 40%.

Bitcoin futures trading volumes on top exchanges. Source: Skew.

It is unclear whether the maintenance which OKEx engaged in on such short notice was meant to prevent rising trading volumes from interfering with the correct functioning of the platform. The firm just explains that the maintenance is meant to ensure “better service quality and trading experience.”

A challenging time for cryptocurrency exchanges

The boom and bust recently experienced by the cryptocurrency market at large were accompanied by a major and sudden rise in trading volume and web traffic related to cryptocurrency exchanges. This resulted in an unexpected high strain on trading infrastructure and some major hiccups.

As Cointelegraph reported in late February, major cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted trading on its platform to resolve an unexpected technical issue with its infrastructure. The unscheduled maintenance followed weeks during which the exchange’s users had to endure a number of performance issues on the platform.

Earlier this month, Binance halted trading after its infrastructure malfunctioned once again. Jay Hao, CEO of OKEx, extended a tongue-in-cheek offer of technical help to Binance’s CEO.

Tags
Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin Futures
Okex
Related Posts
Traders buy the Bitcoin dip even as Evergrande’s implosion rocks stock markets
Bitcoin (BTC) investors seem concerned about the increasing speculation that China’s second-largest property developer, Evergrande Group, will default on its $300 billion in debts. These fears manifest in global equities markets, which saw a 1.5%–3% drop at this morning’s market open. Despite the price move, the BTC outflow (net withdrawals) from exchanges has continued a multi-month trend, particularly on Coinbase Pro. Traders also know that every exchange has a different user profile. For example, liquidations on Bybit tend to be more extreme when compared to FTX, which is known for having more conservative clients. Take, for example, Tuesday’s drop below …
Bitcoin / Sept. 20, 2021
This key Bitcoin price indicator shows pro traders buying each dip
Bitcoin (BTC) might have failed to sustain the $42,000 support, and for many, this is a slightly bearish sign. Interestingly, the downward move occurred shortly after Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil exporter, denied having claimed to start mining Bitcoin. Top traders at exchanges seized the opportunity to add leverage-long positions, a clear bullishness indicator. Furthermore, margin traders have been increasing their stablecoin borrowing, indicating that whales and professional traders are expecting more upside from cryptocurrencies. The 24% weekly rally that took Bitcoin from $34,000 to its highest level since May 20 was fueled by a 30% surge in the …
Bitcoin / Aug. 3, 2021
2 key metrics suggest Bitcoin price won’t be pinned below $33K for long
Over the last 48 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) price climbed from $31,000 to $34,800 before reversing course and dropping the majority of these gains. While this $3,800 shift to the downside might not seem significant, the 12% oscillation liquidated $660 million worth of futures contracts. While it’s unlikely that there will ever be a definitive answer behind the move, on Jan. 25, President Joe Biden voiced his willingness to lower the $1.9 trillion stimulus package. This might have reduced incentives for those buying BTC as an inflation protection or a hedge against U.S. dollar devaluation versus leading global currencies. Shorter-term charts …
Bitcoin / Jan. 26, 2021
Bakkt Bitcoin futures smashes daily volume record by 36%
Bakkt, a regulated platform for crypto asset custody and trading owned by Intercontinental Exchange, has reported record daily trading volumes for its physically-settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts. On Sept. 16, Bakkt announced that more than $200 million worth of BTC contracts had been traded over a single day — breaking its previous record by 36%. According to crypto market data aggregator Skew, the record figure is roughly double the average daily volumes posted throughout September so far. Despite being touted as the likely catalyst for an institutional-led bull market, Bakkt’s Bitcoin derivatives failed to meet the expected impact, seeing sustained …
Bitcoin / Sept. 16, 2020
3 reasons why Bitcoin price is clinging to $38,000
Bitcoin (BTC) has been unable to break from the 26-day-long descending channel. Investors are uncomfortable holding volatile assets after the United States Federal Reserve pledged to reduce its $9 trillion balance sheet. While inflation has been surging worldwide, the first signs of an economic downturn showed as the United Kingdom's retail sales fell 1.4% in March. Moreover, Japan's industrial production dropped 1.7% in March. Lastly, the U.S. gross domestic product fell 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022. This bearish macroeconomic scenario can partially explain why Bitcoin has been on a downtrend since early April. Still, one needs to analyze …
Bitcoin / May 3, 2022