Profit sharing is a percentage of a Copier’s realised profits paid to the Copy Leader as compensation for their trading expertise. The Copy Leader sets the rate between 1% and 50%. Profit share is only charged when the Copier makes a profit from the copied trades. If the Copier loses money, no profit share is owed.
What is profit sharing in copy trading?
Profit sharing is the mechanism by which Copy Leaders earn income from their followers (Copiers) on BitMEX. Rather than charging a flat subscription fee, the Copy Trading platform uses a performance-based model: the Copy Leader receives a percentage of the Copier’s net realised profits from copied trades. The alignment of incentives means leaders earn more only when their trading generates positive returns for their followers.
How Does Profit Sharing Work?
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Profit Distribution Triggers: Copy Leaders will receive their share of profits only after their Copiers realise net profit from trading futures. This distribution is triggered by two scenarios:
- Closing All Positions: Profit sharing is distributed when a Copy Leader closes all of their open positions. If a Leader has multiple trades open, profit from a single closed trade won’t be distributed until every other open position is also closed.
- Copier Stops Following: Positions are immediately closed and settled when a Copier decides to stop copying a Copy Leader. The profit is then distributed to the Copy Leader.
- Profit Sharing Ratio: Copy Leaders can set their profit share rate from 1% to 50%, which is always publicly displayed. While Leaders can adjust this rate, a higher rate will only apply to new Copiers, not existing ones. However, if a Leader sets a lower rate, it will immediately benefit all Copiers.
- Distribution & Timing: Profit sharing is paid to the Copy Leader's Main Account once every 24 hours. After a settlement, no further distribution occurs if the Leader closes positions again within that 24-hour window, which resets with each settlement. New Copiers will receive their first profit share after 24 hours of copying or upon stopping the Leader, whichever comes first.
- Minimum Payout: Profit share is only paid out if the calculated amount is greater than 0.25 USDT.
- Trade Condition: Profit sharing is only considered for derivative trades. Spot trading will not be included.
To view and edit your profit sharing scale as a Copy Leader:
- Select the ‘Copy Leader’ button at the top of the Copy Trading Marketplace.
- Click on ‘See More’ on your Leader profile.
- Click on the icon next to Leader Settings.
To view your profits from Copy Trading as a Copier:
- Select the ‘Copy Trading Details’ button at the top of the Copy Trading Marketplace.
- Click on ‘See More’ on your copied Leader profile.
- Scroll down to see your daily earnings
Example Scenario - Position closed on different days
| Date | Positions | Copier PnL (after fees) | Profit Sharing (Example: 10%) |
| Monday |
Opened BTCUSDT Opened ETHUSDT |
- | - |
| Tuesday | Closed BTCUSDT | BTCUSDT +1,000 USDT | - |
| Wednesday | Closed ETHUSDT | ETHUSDT +200 USDT |
Total: 1,200 USDT Profit shared to Leader Sub Account: 1,200 x 10% = 120 USDT Profits to Copier’s Main Account : 1,200 x 90% = 1,080 USDT |
Other Example Scenarios:
| Scenario | Description | Profit Sharing Outcome |
| Partial Position Closure | The Leader has multiple perpetual swaps position opened (e.g. BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT) but only closed one position in profit on a given day, leaving other positions open. | Unsuccessful. Profit sharing will not occur for that trading session until all positions are closed. |
| All positions closed on different days | The Leader has multiple perpetual swaps positions opened (e.g. BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT) and closes them over separate days (e.g. BTCUSDT today, ETHUSDT tomorrow). | Successful. However, profits will be shared on the day the last position is closed, assuming it's before the daily cutoff time. |
| All positions closed on the same day (Before cutoff) | The Leader has two positions opened (e.g. BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT) and closed both on the same day before the cutoff time. | Successful. Profits will be distributed on that day. |
| All positions closed on the same day (After cutoff) | The Leader has two positions opened (e.g. BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT) and closed both on the same day after the cutoff time. | Unsuccessful for that specific day. Profits will be distributed on the following day. |
| Multiple trading sessions on the same day | The Leader closed all existing positions on a single day. Later the same day, new trades opened and closed them again, all before the daily cutoff time. | Successful. Profits will be consolidated and distributed once a day, regardless of how many trading sessions you open and close within that day. |
| Closing all positions in profit but Copier’s positions are not in profit. | The Leader closed their positions in profit. However, their Copier’s positions were not in profit due trading failure reasons such as Copers setting a different stop loss. | Unsuccessful. Profit sharing only works when the Copiers make profit on their copied trades as well. |
| If a Copier stops and copies the same Leader again. | The Copier stops following the Leader and closes all current trades in profit. The Copier then copies the same Leader again. |
Successful. Profit sharing will be settled for all realized profits up to that point. However, the Copier will receive the current profit sharing rate at the time of rejoining if the Leader has changed it. |
| Copy Leader changes profit share rate | The Leader changes their profit share rate whilst having copiers. | Successful. Your current copy relationship will continue to use the original profit share rate. The new rate will only apply to new Copiers. |
For more information, please visit the Copy Trading FAQs.
Learn More:
What if the Copier loses money?
If the Copier’s copied trades result in a net loss, no profit share is charged. The Copy Leader only earns when Copiers profit. The performance-based structure aligns incentives between both parties: the leader benefits only when their trading generates positive returns for followers, and Copiers are never charged for losing trades.
For more information on Copy Trading costs, see What Are the Costs Associated with Copy Trading?.