Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange  ⁠BitMEX will permanently shut down in September after more than a decade of operations, as the company separately faces a proposed U.S. class-action lawsuit accusing it and several former executives of using privileged customer information and its liquidation system to improperly take hundreds of Bitcoin from traders.

BitMEX said its platform will cease operations on Sept. 23, 2026, following a strategic review by Seychelles-based owner HDR Global Trading Limited. The exchange has asked customers to close open positions and withdraw their assets ahead of the deadline.  

The closure announcement came the same day BKX Services Inc. and trader David Namdar filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against HDR Global Trading, affiliated companies, and BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, as well as former executive Gregory Dwyer.  

The lawsuit alleges BitMEX operated an internal “Insider Trading Desk” that had access to confidential information about customer positions and could continue trading during periods when ordinary users were unable to access the platform. The plaintiffs further allege BitMEX’s liquidation system allowed it to close positions and retain excess collateral in Bitcoin.  

Those allegations have not been proven in court, and BitMEX has denied wrongdoing.

According to CoinDesk, the exchange characterized the case as another “opportunistic claim with no basis” and said it intends to defend itself.  

Plaintiffs seek return of more than 622 Bitcoin

BKX Services and Namdar claim combined losses of approximately 622.66 BTC from their trading activity on the exchange, according to the complaint.

The proposed class seeks to represent U.S. traders who used BitMEX Bitcoin swap products beginning July 23, 2018. The plaintiffs are seeking the return of Bitcoin they claim was improperly taken, along with compensatory and punitive damages and certification of the case as a class action.  

Central to their allegations is BitMEX’s liquidation system.

Crypto derivatives exchanges require traders using leverage to maintain enough collateral to support their positions. If losses reduce that collateral below a specified threshold, exchanges can automatically liquidate the position to prevent further losses.

The plaintiffs allege BitMEX configured this process in a way that allowed positions to be liquidated while collateral remained above what they argue should have been required, with excess Bitcoin subsequently entering the exchange’s insurance fund.

They also accuse an internal trading operation of possessing what the complaint describes as privileged or “God” access to information unavailable to ordinary customers.

These remain allegations made by the plaintiffs. No court has determined that BitMEX operated such a desk as alleged, stole customer Bitcoin or manipulated liquidations.

BitMEX says shutdown followed strategic review

BitMEX has not publicly connected the lawsuit to its decision to close.

HDR Global Trading said the shutdown followed a “strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry,” without identifying a more specific reason.  

New account registrations have stopped as part of the wind-down. Customers will eventually be restricted to reducing existing positions before remaining contracts are closed ahead of the final shutdown.

BitMEX has said customer assets remain safe and under users’ control during the process.  

The exchange’s diminished market position also limits the likely immediate impact of its departure. Reuters reported that BitMEX now accounts for less than 0.01% of the market, with daily trading volume around $400,000.  

That represents a dramatic reversal for an exchange that once ranked among cryptocurrency’s dominant derivatives venues.

From crypto derivatives pioneer to closure

Founded in 2014, BitMEX became one of the industry’s most influential trading platforms and helped popularize the perpetual swap, a cryptocurrency derivative that resembles a futures contract but has no expiration date.

At its height, the exchange handled billions of dollars in daily trading activity and became particularly associated with highly leveraged cryptocurrency speculation.

Its position weakened as competition intensified and the company encountered regulatory problems in the United States.

Hayes, Delo and Reed pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to establish and maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program at BitMEX. They were later pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2025.  

The latest civil case is separate from those criminal proceedings.

A previous lawsuit involving related allegations against BitMEX was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice in 2025. The new plaintiffs reference that earlier litigation in their complaint, but the filing represents a new proceeding whose claims will have to be tested independently.

For BitMEX users, meanwhile, the immediate issue is the exchange’s approaching closure rather than the outcome of litigation that could take considerably longer to resolve.

The company says customers should close their positions and withdraw their assets before Sept. 23. The lawsuit will proceed on a separate track, with its allegations against BitMEX and its former executives still awaiting judicial scrutiny.

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