In its white paper, Binance stated that it would eventually roll out margin trading, and according to its latest public Application Programming Interface (API) update, it has finally implemented this feature. The “isMarginTradingAllowed” tag has been added to all crypto trading pairs, with only four pairs showing the “true” response. This is a huge update for the Binance API as more and more of its competitors are beginning to offer customers margin trading.
Four Trading Pairs Listed as “True”
Over on Reddit, one user posted that there are currently nine margin trading pairs that are active, but as can clearly be seen from the API itself, there are only four. The listed trading pairs where margin trading is permitted are:
· ETH/BTC
· BNB/BTC
· TRX/BTC
· XRP/BTC
The Reddit post claims that these pairs also include a USDT pairing for margin trading, but as you can clearly see from the API it’s fake news.
Margin and Leverage Trading Launching Everywhere
As crypto exchange look to cater to more experienced traders, more exchanges are beginning to offer margin and leverage trading. This practice involves lending traders the money to open positions that are well beyond their balance for the chance to cash in on mega profits. However, if the trade goes wrong, traders can end up footing a whopping bill.
Liquid Exchange recently launched 100:1 leverage trading on Bitcoin futures, meaning for every 1 Bitcoin a trader can afford, Liquid will let them buy 100. In Europe, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) renewed crypto leverage caps at 2:1 for crypto CFDs.
Binance Permitting Risky Behavior
There is no doubt that margin trading is risky business, as the potential for loss is massive – especially for those who have no idea what they’re doing. Margin trading might seem fancy, but unless the market goes the right way, you can be left facing a huge deficit. The same goes for buying cryptos using your credit card. Binance recently enabled the ability for people to buy cryptos using their credits cards, which might seem like a nice gesture, but it’s actually a questionable move. Many feel that it’s encouraging users to get into debt by using their credit card to speculate on the crypto markets. These are two very risky features to enable, and should be limited to specific groups of traders who have a proven balance sheet and knowledge of crypto markets.
Binance might have launched margin trading via its API, but it’s not yet live on its own site. For the meantime, Binance users will have to make use of the API to trade on margin. While there are only currently four pairs enabled, it’s likely that we will see more pairs added in the coming months.
