Crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX will cease operations in September, according to a Thursday announcement on the company's website.

The exchange stated that following "a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry, the board of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner and operator of BitMEX, has decided to close the exchange."

BitMEX did not provide further details on the reasons for the closure but instructed users to withdraw their funds "as soon as practical."

"The BitMEX platform has always remained grounded to the true ethos of Bitcoin — neutrality, transparency, and decentralisation, which is evident through our peer-to-peer operations and a top priority focus on user fund safety," the statement read. "While this news is a difficult one to share, we are proud of everything that has been built at the company since its launch as a pioneer of crypto derivatives."

The exchange confirmed that users will be able to access services as normal until September 23. After that date, BitMEX will only hold client assets pending withdrawal.

BitMEX also noted that it had unstaked all staked BMEX Tokens on the platform, which are now available in users' accounts.

The closure marks the end of the road for an exchange that once dominated crypto derivatives trading. Launched in 2014, BitMEX introduced the Bitcoin perpetual swap in 2016 — a leveraged contract without an expiry date that became one of the most widely used trading instruments across the crypto industry. At its peak, BitMEX regularly handled billions of dollars in daily trading volume and was among the largest crypto exchanges in the world by turnover. However, its market share eroded significantly in recent years as competitors such as Binance, Bybit, and OKX expanded their derivatives offerings, attracting traders with deeper liquidity, newer products, and broader altcoin coverage.

History of Regulatory Scrutiny

Founded by Arthur Hayes, BitMEX has faced significant legal and regulatory challenges over the years.

Regulators initially determined that BitMEX had allowed U.S. clients to trade on its platform without verifying their identities.

In 2021, the company paid $100 million in civil penalties after the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network alleged that the exchange's senior leadership "altered U.S. customer information to hide the customer's true location."

In 2022, BitMEX founders Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed pled guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to implement an anti-money laundering program at the cryptocurrency exchange. Each founder agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle the charges.

The following year, BitMEX was hit with an additional $100 million fine following its guilty plea for breach of the United States Bank Secrecy Act.

Following the election of crypto-friendly President Donald Trump, all three founders were pardoned in 2025.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.