BitMEX Shutdown (September 2026)
Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.
anchored·4UVsM6…J4r7Summary
HDR Global Trading Limited, operator of the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, announced on July 23, 2026 that it will permanently cease operations effective September 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, ending an 11-year run. The wind-down follows a multi-year U.S. law-enforcement history culminating in a $100 million Bank Secrecy Act fine and probation sentence for the company in January 2025, after its three founders pleaded guilty to related charges in 2022 (and were later pardoned by President Trump in March 2025). As of this writing (September 12, 2026) the shutdown has not yet occurred; BitMEX has stated customer assets exceed liabilities and this is a solvent wind-down rather than a bankruptcy, but users who fail to withdraw before the deadline face ongoing maintenance fees, and BitMEX itself has warned of phishing and impersonation schemes exploiting the closure.
Connected Entities
1 entitiesTimeline(9 events)
February 2022
BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo plead guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
CoinDesk9 March 2022
Third co-founder Samuel Reed pleads guilty to the same Bank Secrecy Act charge.
DOJ SDNY press release20 May 2022
Arthur Hayes sentenced to two years' probation with six months of home confinement.
Willkie Compliance ConcourseJuly 2024
HDR Global Trading Limited (BitMEX's corporate operator) pleads guilty to a Bank Secrecy Act violation.
DOJ SDNY / Yahoo Finance15 January 2025
BitMEX sentenced to a $100 million fine and two years' probation for Bank Secrecy Act violations.
DOJ SDNY / Yahoo FinanceMarch 2025
President Trump grants full pardons to BitMEX's three founders, a former executive, and the corporate entity.
BloombergJuly 2026
BitMEX/HDR Global Trading announces the exchange will permanently shut down, effective September 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC; new registrations halted immediately.
CoinDesk / CNBCAugust 2026
BitMEX applies risk limits blocking new positions; users may only reduce or close existing positions.
The BlockSeptember 2026
Scheduled permanent shutdown of BitMEX operations at 04:00 UTC; remaining open positions to be force-closed. (Not yet occurred as of this entry's research date, 2026-09-12.)
CoinDesk / CNBC / Official BitMEX announcementDecision Log
- hash: BZx8FPXivi9iU9TZWxmdBz7QtBrN5nTCL7y4C1D2hRyD
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 0 of 14 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 9/12/2026, 11:14:40 PM
last updated: 9/12/2026, 11:15:10 PM
avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world