BitMEX, the exchange that invented perps, is shutting down
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- BitMEX announced it will shut down operations on Sept. 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, ending an 11-year run that began with its 2014 founding by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed.
- The exchange immediately halted new account registrations and will stop allowing new positions on Aug. 26 before forcibly closing all remaining open contracts ahead of the September deadline.
- Users who fail to withdraw assets by the deadline face a monthly maintenance fee of $50 or an annualized 1% levy on their holdings, per an email to account holders.
- At its 2019 peak, BitMEX handled over $1 trillion in annual trading volume and captured roughly 57% of global crypto derivatives market share, with daily turnover hitting $8 billion in July 2018.
- Co-founders Hayes, Delo, and Reed resigned in 2020 after BitMEX pleaded guilty to failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures amid U.S. criminal charges.
- The shutdown comes three weeks after BitMEX lost its CEO, CFO, and head of growth, following years of ceding share to centralized rivals like Binance and new decentralized derivatives venues.
- BitMEX maintained a clean security record across its run, losing no user funds to hacks or smart-contract exploits despite years of regulatory enforcement actions.
Why it matters: BitMEX built the foundational plumbing for modern crypto derivatives trading but spent years ceding that business to nimbler centralized rivals like Binance and decentralized venues. Users have until Sept. 23, 2026 to withdraw or face monthly $50 maintenance fees, while the company's proof of reserves confirms customer assets are fully covered even as potential Bitcoin network congestion could slow withdrawals.
