BitMEX Shuts Down September 23, 2026; Halts New Sign-Ups
In brief
- BitMEX shuts down September 23, 2026 after pioneering perpetual swaps since 2016.
- Trading halts for new positions August 26; existing positions can only be reduced.
- Users can withdraw balances after shutdown; parked funds incur monthly account fees.
Shutdown Timeline
Trading will continue as normal until August 26, when BitMEX will bar new positions. After that date, traders can only reduce existing ones. BitMEX will force-close open positions to wind down the market in an orderly fashion leading up to the final shutdown date.
Users can still log in to withdraw balances after the exchange goes dark. Those who leave funds parked will eventually face monthly account fees.
A Decade of Dominance and Controversy
BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. The exchange became synonymous with leveraged crypto trading after launching the perpetual swap in May 2016—a no-expiry futures contract offering up to 100x leverage. The product reshaped derivatives markets; crypto perpetual swap volumes reached $61.7 trillion in 2025, up $13.8 trillion from the previous year.
BitMEX's legacy was complicated by regulatory pressure. The exchange pleaded guilty in 2024 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act over lax anti-money-laundering controls and paid $100 million in penalties. The criminal case hung over the platform for years until March 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Arthur Hayes and his co-founders, wiping out the charges.
Throughout its run, BitMEX noted it had gone more than 11 years without losing user funds to a hack—a security record that stood out in an industry marked by repeated breaches.
