BitMEX will stop all exchange operations at 04:00 UTC on September 23, 2026. The platform announced the shutdown after a strategic review of its business model, and new user registrations have already been suspended.
The wind-down follows a phased schedule. From August 26 at 04:00 UTC, users lose the ability to open new positions and can only reduce existing ones. Any open positions still on the books when the final deadline hits will be forcibly liquidated. The exchange is urging everyone to close positions and withdraw funds well before that date.
What happens to your money after the lights go out
Logging in and withdrawing assets will still be possible after trading ends. But there is a catch for anyone who leaves funds sitting in their account. Users who have completed KYC verification and still hold assets post-closure will face a monthly custody fee of $50 or 1% of the account balance annually, whichever figure is greater. That makes lingering expensive fast.
BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed. It was among the first exchanges to offer Bitcoin derivatives at scale and is widely credited with making perpetual swap contracts a mainstream product across the industry. For several years it was the dominant venue for leveraged crypto trading.
The slide began in 2020, when the US Department of Justice and the CFTC filed charges against the exchange and its founders over alleged violations of anti-money-laundering rules. Competitors like Binance, Bybit, and OKX had already been eating into its market share before the legal pressure landed. An attempted sale never produced a signed deal. The closure, then, is less a surprise than a long-delayed conclusion.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.
