BitMEX will shut down its exchange on September 23, 2026, bringing one of the crypto derivatives market’s oldest platforms to an end. The company has already suspended new user registrations and begun preparing for a phased wind-down of trading operations. The board of directors said the decision follows a strategic review of the business and the current conditions in the crypto industry.
Starting on August 26, users will no longer be able to open new positions. They will only be able to reduce existing ones. After that, BitMEX will begin force closing remaining contracts, and any positions still open by September 23 will be liquidated automatically.
The team urged users to withdraw their assets before the deadline. Customers who have completed KYC and still keep funds on the platform after it shuts down will be charged a monthly fee of either $50 or 1% annually of their remaining balance, whichever amount is higher.
The company also said that, according to its latest Proof of Reserves, its reserves fully cover all customer liabilities.
BitMEX's Journey
BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed. The exchange was the first to introduce perpetual futures with leverage of up to 100x, making the instrument one of the industry's defining standards.
In 2018 and 2019, the platform’s annual trading volume exceeded $1.0 T. Its share of the crypto derivatives market reached 57%, while daily trading volume climbed to $8.0 B. Throughout more than 11 years of operations, BitMEX never lost customer funds in a single hack.
In 2020, U.S. authorities charged the company and its founders with violating the Bank Secrecy Act for operating without a comprehensive AML/KYC program between 2015 and 2020. HDR Global Trading and the founders pleaded guilty and paid fines, including a $100.0 M penalty imposed on the company. Following the settlement, the company's executives stepped down from their positions, and in 2025, the founders received pardons.
Three weeks before announcing the shutdown, the company saw the simultaneous departure of CEO Stephan Lutz, CFO Ina Steiner, and Chief Business Officer Raphael Polansky.
The company acknowledged that over the past several years, BitMEX has lost a significant share of the market to more competitive centralized exchanges and decentralized platforms offering a wider range of trading instruments and deeper liquidity.