BitMEX Upgrades Custody System And Integrates Bitcoin Core

One of the leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges BitMEX has announced the completion of a significant upgrade on its custody system to improve transactions. 

The update will allow BitMEX to use Bitcoin Core to track users’ BTC deposits and withdrawals, the company said. 

Important Updates

Since Bitcoin Core ZeroMQ notifications trigger the new architecture, deposits will be credited within a minute of the block confirmation, considerably quicker than before.

According to the announcement, the development helps remove BitMEX’s in-house fork with custom RPC calls and address-based indexes. While simplifying BitMEX’s software stack, the upgrade will lift other barriers, making it easier to adopt new Bitcoin features. 

The upgrade will also enable BitMEX to track native SegWit deposit addresses. Using SegWit could result in considerable block weight savings of up to 65%. The exchange hopes to introduce this feature to its users in the coming months. 

As commercial users of Bitcoin, BitMEX claims it appreciates the test facilities built on Bitcoin Core like the private regtest networks. This would allow the company to run its “entire deposit and withdrawal stack under automated end-to-end unit and acceptance tests.” 

BitMEX And Bitcoin Core History

BitMEX is one of the leading companies in the industry that actively supports independent Bitcoin Core developers. It promises to continue doing so through its Open Source Developer Grant Program. The initiative, which provides annual grants to developers working on Bitcoin, NodeJS, Java, or Kubernetes, is part of BitMEX’s effort to promote crypto development. 

In April 2020, the exchange increased the grant amount it was paying Bitcoin developer Michael Ford, also known by his handle “fanquake,” from $60,000 to $100,000. 

In July, BitMEX awarded another $50,000 to Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core developer who said that he was developing a language that could unlock Bitcoin’s smart contract potential.

Aside from sponsoring Bitcoin Core contributors, BitMEX said its team has also worked on an improved interface for external systems designed to track the mempool to Bitcoin Core, and it is scheduled for the 0.21 version.