BitMEX to shut down after failing to land buyer

BitMEX’s parent company announced that it will shut its exchange on September 23, 2026, ending its 11-year run. The platform popularized the perpetual swap and 100x leverage. 

BitMEX’s account holders now have two months to pull their money out.

Why is BitMEX closing after 11 years?

BitMEX’s parent company, HDR Global Trading Limited, said its board has made the decision to permanently shut down the exchange after reviewing the business and the state of the wider crypto market. New account sign-ups stopped the same day the notice went out, and the final closure is scheduled for September 23, 2026, ending its 11-year run. 

BitMEX launched in 2014 under founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed. It built its name on a Bitcoin perpetual contract offering up to 100x leverage, a product it invented in May 2016 that has since become the most traded product in crypto.

However, things began going bad for the exchange in October 2020 when the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged BitMEX with illegally offering commodity derivatives and failing to implement anti-money-laundering procedures. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) brought criminal charges against the founders under the Bank Secrecy Act for willfully failing to establish and maintain adequate AML and KYC programs.

All three founders stepped down shortly after the charges were filed and BitMEX later pleaded guilty in 2024 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and was hit with an additional $100 million fine in January 2025. Notably, President Donald Trump pardoned the co-founders in March 2025.

The exchange never fully recovered its market position after the scandal. It lost its lead in the derivatives market to Binance (Binance), Bybit (Bybit), and OKX (OKX).

The platform had been looking for a buyer since February 2025, when it retained Broadhaven Capital Partners to run a sale process, but failed to find one. In late June 2026, BitMEX cleared out its top ranks at once, with CEO Stephan Lutz, CFO Ina Steiner, and Chief Growth Officer Raphael Polansky all departing. 

Peter Wilkinson, who previously served as the firm’s global general counsel and chief operating officer, stepped into the CEO seat. 

Users now have two months to close positions and withdraw their funds before the deadline. 

What happens to my funds on BitMEX?

Starting August 26, 2026, BitMEX will impose risk limits that block traders from opening new positions. From that point, users can only reduce existing positions. The exchange will then force close positions gradually to wind the market down in an orderly way. 

Once the exchange shuts down in September, any positions still open at that moment will be liquidated on the spot. BitMEX said it takes no responsibility for losses tied to a user’s failure to exit in time. 

However, after the shutdown, users will still be able to log in to their accounts to check balances, review transaction history, and move funds out. All staked BMEX tokens have already been unstaked and returned to holder accounts. 

KYC-verified customers who leave assets on the platform past the deadline face a monthly charge of $50 or 1% per year, whichever is larger, applied to whatever balance remains. The fee is deducted monthly and could increase over time for accounts that stay funded.

BitMEX warned users to watch for scams during the wind-down, saying no priority withdrawal service exists. The company also said its reserves cover all customer liabilities, pointing to its Proof of Reserves page. CoinMarketCap data listed total exchange assets at roughly $1 billion.