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 (12.5% of trading fees) — see Validator Rewards on BULK for exactly how that's calculated and paid out. 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?

BULK's documentation describes 100x as the theoretical ceiling, but no live market currently offers that much — checked against the live API on September 7, 2026, actual caps range from 10x on most markets up to 40x on BTC-USD. The limit is set per-instrument and enforced by the exchange — check the current number for a specific market before sizing a position, and see Markets on BULK for a snapshot table. See Contract Specifications on BULK for the full picture on sizing, margin mode, and mark price.

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. See Funding Rate Explained for a full worked example.

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. For a fuller picture of BULK's risk mechanisms and its first real stress test, see Is BULK Safe? A Risk Guide.

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.

Does BULK have an API or SDK for building bots?

Yes — BULK exposes a full HTTP and WebSocket API (with an OpenAPI spec published) covering everything from placing orders to streaming account and market data. If you're building a trading bot or third-party front-end, look at High-Frequency Market Making on BULK for agent wallets and Builder Codes (which let you earn a fee on order flow you route), and the official API reference for endpoint-level detail.

Is trading on BULK gasless?

Token transfers on BULK — moving funds between your accounts, sub-accounts, or a multisig wallet — are completely fee-free and cost no on-chain gas. See Withdrawals & Transfers on BULK for the full mechanics. (This is distinct from trading fees, which apply to actual order fills — see Fees on BULK.)

How do I withdraw funds from BULK?

Withdrawals are capped by a safety formula that keeps you above your maintenance margin requirement with a buffer — BULK will reject a withdrawal that would leave your account too close to liquidation risk. See Withdrawals & Transfers on BULK for exactly how the limit is calculated, and the difference between internal transfers (between your own accounts) and external transfers (to anyone else).

Does BULK support multisig for team or institutional accounts?

Yes — multisig is a native account type on BULK, not a bolted-on smart contract. It supports M-of-N signer approval with a configurable timelock (0 to 30 days) before an approved action actually executes, giving remaining signers a window to cancel a compromised proposal. See Multisig on BULK for the full breakdown and typical use cases.

What's the difference between a referral link and an access code?

They're two parts of the same invite-only gate. A referral link (like this one) identifies who referred you and is what you click to start. An access code is the one-time-use credential that actually grants entry — you may still need to enter one during signup depending on current access rules. See Getting Started for the current flow.

Has BULK launched a token? When is the TGE?

No — as of this writing, BULK has not launched a token. There's no confirmed token generation event (TGE) date. Be skeptical of any specific date circulating on social media unless it comes directly from BULK's own official channels.

How do I deploy my own market on BULK?

BULK allows permissionless market deployment through a process called BIP-1 — new markets start in an isolated-margin "Phase 1," and can graduate to full portfolio margining after posting a bond and building up sufficient trading history. See Deployer-Owned Markets (BIP-1) for the full two-phase lifecycle and requirements.

What happened with BULK's Day 1 liquidity event?

Shortly after mainnet launch, thin liquidity in BULK's BTC market let a small number of highly leveraged accounts push the local order-book price away from the external oracle price, triggering liquidations and Auto-Deleveraging. BULK's team publicly disclosed the incident, paused trading briefly, and reimbursed affected users with a 10% bonus on top. See The BTC Liquidity Event (September 2026) for the full, sourced account.

Who's funding BULK?

Press coverage has reported an $8 million seed round backed by 6th Man Ventures, Robot Ventures, Wintermute, and others, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko as an angel investor — though this is third-party reporting, not a primary confirmation from the investors themselves. See Funding & Backers for the full picture and sourcing caveats.