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BitMEX Ends Exchange Operations After 11 Years
Perpetual-futures pioneer keeps withdrawals open as trading, deposits and new positions stop
TL;DR
- BitMEX ended exchange operations on September 23, 2026, after a wind-down announced in July.
- Withdrawals remain available, while trading, deposits and new positions have stopped.
- Remaining verified-account balances face monthly charges based on an annualized fee, while BitMEX is urging customers to remove funds.
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BitMEX ended its exchange operations on September 23, 2026, closing an approximately 11-year run after owner HDR Global Trading announced a wind-down in July following a strategic review of the business and broader industry. Trading stopped at 04:00 UTC, deposits were disabled and users can no longer open new positions, while withdrawals remain available for customers retrieving balances from the platform.
BitMEX told customers, “Your funds remain completely safe,” while urging them to withdraw remaining assets. Deposits are no longer credited, and users have been told not to send additional funds to BitMEX deposit addresses. Customers can still log into their accounts and request withdrawals, meaning the shutdown has not been presented as a freeze on customer balances.
Verified accounts that retain funds now face a balance charge calculated at an annualized 1% of assets or a $50-equivalent minimum, whichever is greater. The fee is applied monthly, and BitMEX said the rate will rise over time. The exchange is also introducing KYC refreshes and withdrawal cooldown periods during the wind-down and has warned users against phishing attempts that promise faster access to withdrawals.
July Wind-Down Led to Final Trading Halt
The closure unfolded in stages. BitMEX stopped accepting new customer registrations after announcing the shutdown in July 2026. Customers were then barred from opening new positions beginning August 26, 2026, while remaining trades began being force-closed ahead of the final shutdown. By September, trading, deposits and new positions had all been discontinued, leaving withdrawals as the main remaining customer function.
BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. The exchange became closely associated with the crypto perpetual swap, a futures contract without an expiry date, and offered leverage of as much as 100x. BitMEX characterizes the perpetual swap as crypto’s most-traded product and says it never lost customer funds through a hack during its operating history.
Perpetual futures continued growing well beyond BitMEX itself. Centralized crypto-exchange derivatives volume reached about $3.4 trillion in August 2026, while the market was described as reaching up to roughly $50 trillion in annual volume. Those figures illustrate the scale reached by the derivatives market built around products BitMEX helped popularize even as the exchange itself lost market share.
Regulatory Cases and Later History
BitMEX’s operating history also included U.S. regulatory and legal action. The exchange pleaded guilty in 2024 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and paid $100 million in penalties connected with the case.
President Donald Trump pardoned co-founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed in March 2025. Delo later became involved in British political financing, giving Nigel Farage’s Reform UK £8 million in 2026, according to Electoral Commission records cited in the underlying information.
BitMEX closed the exchange with a farewell to its trading community, saying, “Thank you to everyone who traded with us. It’s been an honour.”
FAQ
Can BitMEX users still withdraw funds?
Yes. Account access and withdrawals remain available after trading and deposits ended.
Are new BitMEX deposits still accepted?
No. Deposits are disabled and are no longer credited.
What happens to balances left on verified accounts?
They face monthly charges based on BitMEX’s annualized account-fee structure.
When did BitMEX stop users from opening new positions?
New positions were prohibited beginning August 26, 2026.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
