BitMEX pulls the plug on the 100x era it built: perp pioneer logs off Sept. 23 🪦

BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that introduced the 100x leverage perpetual swap in May 2016, will shut down operations on Sept. 23, 2026, at 04:00:00 UTC, operator HDR Global Trading Limited announced Thursday following a strategic business review. New account registrations have been halted effective immediately, and users have been urged to close positions and withdraw funds. "Today, we share with a very heavy heart that BitMEX exchange will shut down its operations," the platform told users, adding, "We want to reassure you that your assets remain fully safe and under your control during this transition period."

Standard trading will continue until Aug. 26, when BitMEX will bar users from opening new positions and permit only reductions of existing exposure. Between that date and the September deadline, the exchange will systematically force-close all remaining open contracts to ensure an orderly wind-down; any positions still open at the cutoff will be closed automatically. Illiquid contracts may be settled early under existing procedures. BitMEX also confirmed it has unstaked all BMEX tokens held in staking, making them immediately available to holders.

Users who fail to withdraw by the deadline will incur maintenance fees. BitMEX said in an email to account holders that account holders who have completed KYC verification will be charged at least $50 monthly or an annualized 1% levy on assets, with the possibility of higher fees in the future after prior notice. The exchange also cautioned users about phishing attacks exploiting the shutdown announcement, noting that enhanced withdrawal reviews and blockchain confirmation delays may temporarily slow withdrawals. After the closure, users will retain access solely to view balances, transaction history and withdraw remaining assets.

Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, the Seychelles-incorporated venue popularized the no-expiry perpetual contract that now dominates crypto derivatives. BitMEX said it has gone more than 11 years without losing user funds to a hack. Perpetual swap volumes reached $61.7 trillion in 2025, up $13.8 trillion year over year, according to CryptoQuant, even as the broader centralized exchange perpetuals market saw Q2 2026 volume fall 10% to $12.7 trillion per CoinGecko's Crypto Industry Report. BitMEX noted it had been ranked ninth among derivatives exchanges in August 2023 with a 0.9% share of trading volume and no longer appeared among CoinGecko's top 10 perpetual exchanges by 2025.

BitMEX's utility token BMEX plunged more than 90% after the wind-down was disclosed, according to CoinMarketCap data. The exchange's later history included a 2024 guilty plea to violating the Bank Secrecy Act over lax anti-money-laundering controls, which carried $100 million in penalties; in March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Hayes and his co-founders, each of whom had agreed to pay a $10 million fine after pleading guilty in 2022 to Bank Secrecy Act violations. Restructuring adviser Roshan Dharia told Cointelegraph that the closure reflects structural pressures facing mid-sized centralized exchanges, adding that "the top five platforms now control an estimated 80% of global spot volume, leaving mid-tier and regional exchanges with shrinking margins and no viable path to scale," and that "the headwinds are structural, not cyclical."