Arthur Hayes Co Founded BitMEX To Shut Down After 11 Years

A Pioneer Calls It Quits

BitMEX will permanently close its cryptocurrency exchange on September 23, 2026, ending more than 11 years of operations. The board of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner of the exchange, decided to close it after a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry. The shutdown will take effect at 04:00 UTC.

In 2014, Arthur Hayes, together with Ben Delo and Samuel Reed, founded BitMEX (Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange). With his background as an equity derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank and Citibank in Hong Kong, Hayes utilized his expertise in derivatives to help design the now industry-standard perpetual swap contract, a key innovation which pushed BitMEX to market dominance in the early days of the industry.

In May 2016, BitMEX invented the perpetual swap. BitMEX's rise to prominence stems almost entirely from this financial invention, and by 2020 all major derivatives exchanges had copied the product design. As the team put it: "BitMEX invented the 100x leverage perpetual swap, the most traded product in the crypto industry, now adopted by thousands of people and exchanges." The company also noted it has maintained a record of no customer funds lost to hacks during its 11 years of operation.

What Users Need to Do Now

New user registrations have been halted immediately. The platform will continue normal operations until closure, but from August 26, users will only be able to reduce positions, with new positions restricted. Any remaining positions at closure will be forcibly liquidated.

KYC-verified users must withdraw assets before the shutdown to avoid an account management fee of $50 per month or 1% of the balance, whichever is higher. The exchange noted that customer assets remain fully backed, citing its proof of reserves and liabilities. BitMEX also cautioned users about phishing attacks exploiting the shutdown announcement, noting that enhanced withdrawal reviews and blockchain confirmation delays may temporarily slow withdrawals.

BitMEX has already unstaked all BMEX Token (BMEX) holdings and returned them to accounts.

Sources:
CoinDesk: BitMEX Notifies Users It Is Shutting Down After an 11-Year Run
BeInCrypto: BitMEX Exchange Announces Shutdown, Ending 11-Year Operations
Reuters via TradingView: Cryptocurrency Exchange BitMEX to Shut Down