BitMEX Exchange Shuts Down on September 23 After 11 Years

Launched in 2014, BitMEX became one of the most influential crypto derivatives exchanges. It introduced the 100x leveraged perpetual swap, a product that later became widely adopted across the industry. The company also highlighted that it had operated for more than 11 years without losing customer funds to a hack.

During the wind-down period, BitMEX said it may force-close open positions to ensure an orderly market shutdown. Any positions still open when the exchange closes on September 23 will be automatically liquidated. Contracts with limited liquidity may undergo early settlement, with users receiving advance notice.

After the exchange closes, users will still be able to log in to view account balances and transaction history and withdraw remaining assets. All previously staked BMEX tokens have already been unstaked and credited back to user accounts.

Users who complete KYC but leave assets on BitMEX after the closure date will face a monthly custody fee. The fee is the highest of 0.0025 BTC, 0.15 ETH, and $10 USDT per month. BitMEX also warned that these charges could increase if users continue leaving assets on the platform after the closure.

The exchange said it expects withdrawal requests to increase as the closure date approaches and warned that additional security checks could slow processing times. Blockchain confirmation times, particularly on Bitcoin, may also cause delays. BitMEX stressed that customer assets remain fully backed, citing its proof of reserves and liabilities.