BitMEX, one of the oldest exchanges in the digital asset futures field, is betting that introducing a spot new market would help it attract retail consumers during the current crypto bear market. JUST IN: BitMEX launches spot market in hopes of revival. — CoinXhigh.com (@CoinxHigh) May 17, 2022 The company, which has made news due to its creator Arthur Hayes’ legal troubles, launched its new spot market on Tuesday, allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, and Bored Ape Yacht Club’s APE token, and Uniswap’s governance token UNI. BitMEX had hinted at an expansion outside of its bread-and-butter perpetual swaps, which formerly sat at the market’s core before rivals as FTX and Binance ate into its market share since European exchange veteran Alexander Höptner took over for Hayes in late 2020. The new spot market’s user interface is more pleasant than the traditional derivatives platform, with softer typefaces and warmer colors. BitMEX Vice President of Spot Genia Mikhalchenko commented, “It is different from our original appearance and feel.” He hopes this will appeal to retail traders searching for new possibilities following the recent downturn. Taking a pragmatic approach, Mikhalchenko acknowledged that BitMEX is late to the game regarding gate-crashing spot trading. Still, he said that the company has no “delusions” about its possibilities. Nonetheless, he believes that the company’s intention to give a...