A new class-action alleges BitMEX designed a system to retain collateral and its trading desk had privileged access, filed the same day the exchange said it would close.
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BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that pioneered the perpetual swap, faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging theft of bitcoin and insider trading. The suit was filed the same day the exchange said it would shut down in three months.
The complaint, filed July 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, combines claims from former tokenization project BKX Services and David Namdar. BKX said it lost at least 305.81 BTC through forced liquidations. Namdar said he lost more than 316.85 BTC. Combined, the plaintiffs claim 622.66 BTC, roughly $40.7 million at current prices.
The filing came as BitMEX said it would close on Sept. 23, ending an 11-year run. The exchange had already lost its CEO, chief financial officer and head of growth last month; general counsel Peter Wilkinson took over as CEO. The closure followed a strategic review by parent company HDR Global Trading.
The lawsuit alleges that BitMEX and co-founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed designed a system to retain customers’ collateral and transfer the remaining bitcoin to the platform’s insurance fund. It also says an internal trading desk had access to private customer information and could continue trading during server freezes that prevented other users from closing their positions.
BitMEX allowed traders to borrow up to 100 times their collateral to leverage positions. The plaintiffs claim the platform liquidated their positions while the collateral was still worth roughly twice the losses and withheld the balance. The suit names HDR Global, several affiliates, and the co-founders as respondents.
The plaintiffs want to represent U.S. customers who bought BitMEX bitcoin swap products from July 23, 2018. They are seeking the return of the bitcoin, compensatory damages and punitive damages. A judge must first rule that the case can proceed as a class action.
CoinDesk reached out to BitMEX and the other defendants for comment but had not heard back by publication time.
A similar class-action lawsuit was filed in 2020 but was closed in June 2025 without a ruling on the liquidation allegations. The new complaint revives those claims with fresh details about the trading desk’s privileged access and the timing of the server freezes.
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