BitMEX will permanently shut down its exchange on Sept. 23, the crypto derivatives venue said on Thursday, telling users to close positions and withdraw funds before the deadline. Owner and operator HDR Global Trading Limited made the decision "following a strategic review of the business," according to the notice posted to BitMEX's official X account and its blog.
"We strongly encourage all users to close their positions and withdraw their funds as soon as convenient," BitMEX said, adding that user assets "remain fully safe and under your control during this transition period."
The exchange said it invented the 100x leverage perpetual swap, "now the most traded financial product in the crypto industry," and cited an 11-plus-year operating history. Arthur Hayes co-founded BitMEX in 2014. Hayes posted that he was "so proud of what we created and that we will shutdown responsibly on our own terms."
The BMEX token plunged on the news, down roughly 91% over 24 hours, with a circulating market cap near $540,000, per CoinGecko.
BitMEX will apply risk limits from Aug. 26 that block new positions and permit only reduce-only trades, and will force-close any positions still open ahead of the shutdown. Anything open at closure gets force-closed immediately. New account registrations stopped the same day as the announcement.
