BitMEX, Perps Pioneer, Sets Shutdown Date, Urges Users to Withdraw Funds
The wind-down follows a strategic review as BitMEX says users have two months to withdraw funds and close positions before fees begin.
- On Thursday, cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX announced it will permanently shut down operations on September 23, 2026, after parent company HDR Global Trading Limited completed a strategic business review.
- Co-Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, the exchange pioneered the perpetual swap and maintained zero customer funds lost to hacks throughout its 11-year operational history.
- Beginning August 26, BitMEX will prevent traders from opening new positions to ensure an orderly wind-down; users must withdraw assets by September 23 to avoid a $50 monthly fee or 1% annual levy.
- Leadership changes preceded the announcement, with CEO Stephan Lutz, CFO Ina Steiner, and chief growth officer Raphael Polansky departing earlier this month; the founders pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations in 2022 and received a pardon from President Donald Trump.
- Amid broader crypto market struggles including persistent ETF outflows and heightened volatility, BitMEX faced increasing competition from decentralized venues as liquidity migrated to rivals with deeper books.
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BitMEX Users Seek 623 BTC in Liquidation Fraud Suit
BitMEX is facing a class action lawsuit accusing the crypto derivatives platform of fraudulently engineering customer liquidations to seize traders’ Bitcoin collateral. On Thursday, BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs allege they lost a combined 622.66 BTC through forced liquidations on BitMEX, with BKX claiming losses of at least 305.81 BTC and Na…
Crypto Exchange BitMEX to Shut Down Operations After 11 Years
One of crypto’s pioneering derivatives platforms is closing its doors after more than a decade. BitMEX, the exchange that invented perpetual futures contracts, has notified users it will end all operations by September 23rd after an 11-year run in the industry. “With immediate effect, we have stopped all new account registrations. Following a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry, the board of HDR Global Trading Limite…
BitMEX, Perps Pioneer, Sets Shutdown Date, Urges Users to Withdraw Funds
BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that popularized the perpetual swap, announced on Thursday that it will permanently close on September 23 at 04:00 UTC, ending an operating history that runs back to 2014. The exchange said it stopped accepting new account registrations immediately and urged customers to close open positions and move their money out well ahead of the deadline. The decision follows “a strategic review of the business and th…
The US authorities had recently targeted the platform. The identity of the customers had not been sufficiently checked. Now Bitmex has to announce the end.
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