BitMEX, a popular crypto derivatives exchange, has announced the shutdown of its operations. The decision comes after BitMEX’s 11-year-long journey that places it among the longest-running derivatives exchanges. As per BitMEX’s official social media announcement, it will stop its operations on the 23rd of September. The move follows a systematic business review that HDR Global Trading Limited, the operator and owner of the exchange, conducted recently.
Dear BitMEX Users,
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 owner and operator of BitMEX, HDR Global Trading Limited, has made the difficult decision to close operations… pic.twitter.com/oWuqlh547f
— BitMEX (@BitMEX) July 23, 2026
Following this sudden announcement, the native coin of BitMEX, BMEX, has dropped 93% trading at just $0.004306.
BitMEX Confirms Shutdown and Urges Users to Extract Funds
Despite taking the decision to shut all its operations, BitMEX has assured users about the safety of their assets during the transition period. Additionally, the crypto exchange is encouraging traders to gradually close the open positions as well as extract funds. The firm has also issued a detailed closure and withdrawal procedure to assist consumers in getting ready for the shutdown. The platform reportedly played a crucial role in evolving the crypto derivatives sector.
While BitMEX admitted that it has changed notably since the rollout, it expressed pride in the milestones and innovations that it achieved during its venture. One of the important contributions that it made to the market was the provision of a perpetual swap with 100x leverage. The product redefined the crypto derivatives trading landscape, gaining wider traction in the digital asset sector.
Apart from that, the platform also stressed its commitment to security throughout its operating period. Particularly, it maintained a record of no user fund losses driven by hacks.
CryptoQuant CEO Reflects on End of Pioneer Crypto Trading Entity
Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, reflected on BitMEX’s shutdown decision and the likely reason behind it. He mentioned that the crypto exchange recorded only up to $84 million in total trading volume of Bitcoin ($BTC) futures over the past day. This accounts for only 0.08% of the cumulative Bitcoin futures network.
BitMEX recorded $84M in BTC futures volume yesterday, representing 0.08% of the market.
It was a great exchange that helped shape the industry, and now it is passing the torch to the next generation of exchanges it inspired. https://t.co/oUM5JK5pBH pic.twitter.com/sbL9SSWGmf
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) July 23, 2026
Ki Young Ju added that BitMEX has been going through a gradual drop in the $BTC futures activity during recent years. This reportedly diminished the market presence of BitMEX to a great extent as exclusive derivatives entities occupied a bigger share of worldwide trading volumes. Overall, the closure of BitMEX denotes the conclusion of a noteworthy chapter in the continuous evolution of the wider digital asset trading world.