BitMEX, the exchange that invented perps, is shutting down

BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that permanently transformed global market structure by inventing the perpetual swap, announced Thursday that it will shut down operations on Sept. 23.

“Today, we share with a very heavy heart that BitMEX exchange will shut down its operations, effective 23 September 2026 at 04:00:00 UTC., the platform told users. “From today, we strongly encourage all users to close their positions and withdraw their funds as soon as convenient.”

Users who fail to withdraw their assets by the deadline will face automatic financial penalties, as the exchange will charge a monthly maintenance fee of $50 or an annualized 1% levy on their assets, the exchange said in an email to account holders, the post noted.

BitMEX’s decision to shut down comes after years of ceding the perpetuals business it pioneered to nimbler centralized rivals and a new wave of decentralized derivatives venues, as liquidity, market makers and whales migrated to platforms with deeper books, more listings and fewer legal hangovers.

The exchange has immediately halted all new account registrations following a strategic business review by its parent company, HDR Global Trading Limited. The wind-down ends an 11-year run for the Seychelles-incorporated venue, which debuted in 2014 and pioneered the foundational plumbing for modern digital asset derivatives trading.

The wind-down forces an immediate reduction of risk across the system, because while standard trading will continue for the next few weeks, the platform will apply strict limits on Aug. 26 to stop users from opening any new positions. Between that date and the final September deadline, operators will systematically force close all remaining open contracts to ensure the market shuts down in an orderly manner.

The main challenge BitMEX faces is how user assets are transferred, as network congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain could cause significant withdrawal delays. However, the company’s current proof of reserves indicates that platform liabilities fully cover customer assets.

This exit marks the end of an 11-year run for the digital asset derivatives venue, which maintained a clean security record and lost no user funds to hacks or smart-contract exploits despite facing years of intense regulatory enforcement actions by global authorities.

The news comes just three weeks after BitMEX lost its CEO, chief financial officer and head of growth.

The crypto exchange and derivatives trading platform was co-founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. In 2020, BitMEX was alleged to have failed to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures, and later pleaded guilty to the charges. Hayes, Delo and Reed resigned shortly after the U.S. brought criminal charges.

At its operational peak during the 2019 market expansion, the exchange handled over $1 trillion in annual trading volume, capturing roughly 57% of the global crypto derivatives market share. Daily trading volumes reached as high as $8 billion in July 2018, shattering industry records as daily turnover eclipsed 1 million bitcoin. (worth over $8 billion at the time).