Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about trading on BULK Exchange, answered in plain English. For unfamiliar terms, check the Glossary.

What is BULK Exchange?

BULK is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built as a dedicated execution layer running alongside Solana. Instead of routing every order through Solana's general-purpose runtime, BULK uses its own validator network (BULKBFT consensus) purpose-built for order matching, aiming for exchange-grade speed (single-digit-to-low-double-digit millisecond matching) while settlement and custody still happen on Solana.

Is it actually decentralized, or just a fast centralized exchange with a Solana label?

BULK's matching and consensus run across an independent validator network — the initial cohort is documented as 20+ operators representing roughly 5% of Solana's total stake — rather than a single company's servers. Validators are compensated with a share of exchange revenue (documented at 12.5%). For the full architecture, see docs.bulk.trade/architecture/overview.

How do I sign up?

BULK's mainnet is currently invite-only — you need an access code to create an account. See Getting Started for the current sign-up flow and where to get a code.

What can I trade?

USDC-margined perpetual futures with no expiry date. As of this writing, BULK lists BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, XRP, DOGE, SUI, AAVE, JUP, JTO, ENA, TAO, NEAR, ZEC, HYPE, MEGA, LIT, MON, XPL, and FARTCOIN — see Markets on BULK for a direct trade link to every market. Exact per-instrument limits (leverage caps, contract sizing) are available live via BULK's API (`/exchangeInfo`) since these can change, and BULK adds new markets over time.

How much leverage can I use?

Up to 100x on some instruments, but the maximum varies per instrument and is enforced by the exchange — check the current limit for a specific market before sizing a position.

What are the trading fees?

BULK is running fee promotions tied to its launch phases:

• Genesis Liquidity phase (first 30 days): maker fees are waived entirely; taker fees range from about 3.5bps down to 2.2bps depending on your 30-day volume tier.
• After that: maker fees phase back in (starting around 2.0bps, dropping to 0bps at higher tiers); taker fees stay the same.

High-volume market makers can also earn a rebate on top of the base maker fee at certain market-share thresholds. See Fees on BULK for the full tier breakdown, or the official fee schedule for exact current numbers (fee schedules are the kind of thing that changes — always check the live source before assuming a number).

What is portfolio margin, and why should I care?

It's BULK's method of calculating how much collateral you need, based on your whole portfolio rather than each position separately. If you hold positions that offset each other's risk (a classic example: long BTC perp, short ETH perp — since the two tend to move together), portfolio margin recognizes that hedge and requires meaningfully less collateral than treating the two positions in isolation. See Understanding Portfolio Margin for a worked example.

How does liquidation work?

If your account equity falls below the required maintenance margin, BULK first attempts to reduce your position incrementally — the size of the reduction scales with how severe the shortfall is — rather than immediately closing everything. Full closeout is the fallback if incremental reduction can't recover the account. See How Liquidations Work.

What happens if a liquidation can't be filled at a fair price?

In rare cases where a liquidation would cause losses exceeding available collateral, or the position can't be reduced fast enough through the market, BULK falls back to Auto-Deleveraging (ADL): profitable positions on the opposite side of the trade are reduced pro-rata, prioritized by profit and leverage, to cover the gap. See the glossary entry on ADL.

How is funding calculated?

Funding is settled hourly and is based on the gap between BULK's own order-book price and the external oracle price, with caps to prevent runaway rates. Positive funding means longs pay shorts; negative means shorts pay longs. The exchange itself doesn't take a cut of funding — it's a direct payment between traders.

Can I run multiple strategies without them affecting each other?

Yes — you can create up to 64 sub-accounts under one wallet, each with independent margin and positions. A liquidation in one sub-account doesn't touch your others. See Sub-Account in the glossary.

Is my collateral safe? Has BULK been audited?

BULK publishes its security practices and audit history at docs.bulk.trade/architecture/security and docs.bulk.trade/architecture/audits — check those pages directly for current audit reports and firms involved, since that's exactly the kind of claim that shouldn't be taken on faith from a third-party wiki.

How do referrals / access codes work?

Access to BULK's invite-only mainnet is currently gated by one-time-use access codes that expire weekly. Active traders and early depositors earn a limited number of codes per week (the exact reward split between referrer and referee isn't publicly documented at time of writing). If you don't have a code, sign up here to check current access.

Where can I see live market data without an account?

BULK's API exposes public, unsigned endpoints for order books, tickers, candles, and exchange stats — no account or signature required for read-only data. See the API overview.