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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"c068d203-a69f-4654-84b9-b1810800c084","kind":"publish","page_slug":"bitmex-closure-september-2026","published_at":"2026-09-14T02:33:16.383Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"BitMEX Closure (September 2026)","sections":[{"content":"BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed under the corporate vehicle HDR Global Trading Limited, incorporated in the Seychelles. The exchange launched live trading on November 24, 2014. On May 13, 2016, BitMEX introduced the XBTUSD perpetual swap contract — an instrument that became the dominant vehicle for leveraged cryptocurrency speculation and was widely adopted across the derivatives industry. BitMEX allowed up to 100x leverage on its flagship product, and at its peak in 2020–2021 processed monthly futures volume exceeding $100 billion. The platform claims a record of zero customer funds lost to hacks across its operating history, and as of closure maintained a Proof of Reserves showing assets exceeding liabilities.","heading":"Background and History","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Exchange to Sunset on 23 September at 04:00 UTC (official announcement)","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"credibility":2,"name":"As BitMEX Turns 10, the Market Is Still Thankful for the Perpetual Swap — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/11/as-bit-mex-turns-10-the-market-is-still-thankful-for-the-perpetual-swap"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to shut down permanently — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/409495/bitmex-to-shut-down-permanently"}]},{"content":"On July 23, 2026, HDR Global Trading Limited announced that BitMEX would permanently cease exchange operations effective September 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC. The company stated the decision followed a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry, and did not cite financial insolvency or regulatory compulsion as reasons. New account registrations were halted immediately upon announcement. From August 26, 2026 at 04:00 UTC onward, users were limited to reducing existing positions and could not open new ones. All remaining open positions were subject to forced closure between August 26 and the final closure date. Early settlement procedures were applied to illiquid contracts. The exchange urged users to close positions and withdraw funds promptly, warning that blockchain confirmation times could cause delays during the high-volume wind-down period.","heading":"Closure Announcement and Official Timeline","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Exchange to Sunset on 23 September at 04:00 UTC (official announcement)","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX notifies users that it is shutting down operations after an 11-year run — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/07/23/bitmex-s-11-year-run-comes-to-an-end-notifies-users-it-is-ending-operations-in-by-sept-23"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to Permanently Shut Down on September 23, 2026 — KuCoin News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/bitmex-to-permanently-shut-down-on-september-23-2026"}]},{"content":"Users who hold KYC-verified accounts and fail to withdraw balances before September 23, 2026 will be subject to an ongoing monthly custody fee of whichever is greater: $50 USD equivalent or 1% per annum of the remaining account balance. The platform has reserved the right to increase these fees over time with advance notice. This fee structure creates a time-sensitive financial harm for any user who misses the withdrawal deadline — balances left on the platform will be eroded indefinitely rather than returned outright. The exchange has not committed to a deadline after which unclaimed balances would be returned, donated, or escheated to a government authority. Network congestion during the final wind-down period could delay Bitcoin withdrawals despite pending-transaction queues. BitMEX has also warned users to be vigilant against phishing attacks exploiting the shutdown announcement.","heading":"User Harm Vector: Post-Closure Custody Fees","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Exchange to Sunset on 23 September at 04:00 UTC (official announcement)","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to Shutdown in September 2026: What Happens to Its $270M Insurance Fund? — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/blog/bitmex-to-shutdown-in-september-2026"},{"credibility":3,"name":"BitMEX Shuts Down: Key Dates and Where to Move Funds — Neobanque","type":"news_article","url":"https://neobanque.ch/blog/bitmex-closure-2026/"}]},{"content":"According to reporting by CoinDesk, BitMEX retained investment bank Broadhaven Capital Partners in early 2025 to advise on a sale of the business, and spent approximately two years exploring acquisition options before announcing the wind-down. Prospective buyers reportedly included competitor exchanges and payments platform Exodus. The sale process failed for two principal reasons. First, although co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed had stepped away from day-to-day management following U.S. criminal charges brought against them in 2020, they reportedly retained control of a large majority of the company's equity; at least one prospective buyer found this arrangement untenable. Second, BitMEX's trading volumes continued to decline throughout the sale talks, with monthly futures volume falling from over $100 billion at its 2021 peak to approximately $25–30 billion in late 2024 and a fraction of that by mid-2026. The exchange was reported to have sought a valuation near $1 billion, which prospective buyers rejected given the shrinking business. The Block first reported the Broadhaven engagement in early 2025.","heading":"Failed Sale Process and Business Decline","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX sale collapsed as buyers balked at founder ownership and shrinking business — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/31/bitmex-sale-collapsed-as-buyers-balked-at-founder-ownership-and-shrinking-business"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX spent two years seeking buyer before shutdown — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/bitmex-spent-two-years-seeking-buyer-before-shutdown/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto exchange BitMEX seeks buyer, taps Broadhaven Capital Partners — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/343829/crypto-exchange-bitmex-seeks-buyer-taps-broadhaven-capital-partners-to-help-with-sale-report"},{"credibility":3,"name":"BitMEX Sale Fails As Buyers Reject $1 Billion Valuation Amid Decline — Tron Weekly","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tronweekly.com/bitmex-sale-fails-as-buyers-reject-1-billion/"}]},{"content":"BitMEX's competitive position deteriorated substantially in the years preceding its closure. The exchange's derivatives market share fell from 0.9% and a ninth-place ranking among perpetual futures venues in August 2023 to outside the top ten by 2025. By mid-2026, BitMEX recorded approximately $84 million in daily Bitcoin futures volume — representing roughly 0.08% of the total market — according to data cited by CoinDesk. Meanwhile, the broader perpetual swap market grew to a record $86.2 trillion in annual volume in 2026, according to CoinGecko research. BitMEX faced pressure from larger centralized exchanges that absorbed the bulk of derivatives flow, as well as from a generation of decentralized perpetual exchanges whose market share grew from approximately 2% in 2024 to a peak of 12% in November 2025.","heading":"Market Share Decline","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX notifies users that it is shutting down operations after an 11-year run — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/07/23/bitmex-s-11-year-run-comes-to-an-end-notifies-users-it-is-ending-operations-in-by-sept-23"},{"credibility":2,"name":"State of Crypto Perpetuals Report 2026 — CoinGecko","type":"research","url":"https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/state-of-crypto-perpetuals-report-2026"},{"credibility":3,"name":"BitMEX Shutdown Highlights Crypto Derivatives Consolidation Pressures — EdgeX","type":"news_article","url":"https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/news/article/bitmex-trading-shutdown-crypto-derivatives-shift"}]},{"content":"At the time of the closure announcement, BitMEX held approximately 3,694.6 BTC and 30.84 million USDT in its insurance fund, collectively valued near $270 million. Bloomberg separately reported the fund's value at approximately $3 billion in early August 2026, a figure that likely reflected a higher Bitcoin price at the time of that analysis. The fund is owned by BitMEX's operating entity, not by customers, and was built over time primarily from excess collateral recovered during customer liquidation events rather than from premiums paid into a segregated pool. BitMEX has not publicly disclosed any plan for the disposition of these funds following closure. According to Flashbots strategic lead Hasu, writing publicly, the fund's structure — which lacked segregated accounts, had no defined upper limit, and contained no clear protocol for excess assets — may have complicated both acquisition talks and the closure process. These structural issues were reportedly present as early as 2018. In November 2025, BitMEX reduced the fund from approximately 13,000–14,000 BTC to approximately 3,600 BTC, stating the adjustment better reflected then-current market risks. The exchange did not publicly explain what happened to the removed BTC. BitMEX declined to comment to Bloomberg on its plans for the residual fund balance after the September 23 closure.","heading":"Insurance Fund: Ownership Uncertainty and Legal Controversy","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the mystery of BitMEX's insurance fund — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/inside-the-mystery-of-bitmexs-insurance-fund/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to close, but what about its $270M insurance fund? — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/bitmex-to-close-but-what-about-its-270m-insurance-fund/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"What Happens to BitMEX's $3 Billion Fund Once the Exchange Sunsets — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-08-04/what-happens-to-bitmex-s-3-billion-fund-once-the-exchange-sunsets"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Flashbots Executive: BitMEX Insurance Fund Structure May Have Led to Closure — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/flashbots-executive-bitmex-insurance-fund-structure-may-have-led-to-closure"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Hasu: BitMEX's Insurance Fund Structural and Legal Issues Hinder Sale and Closure — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/hasu-bitmex-s-insurance-fund-structural-and-legal-issues-hinder-sale-and-closure"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Insurance Rebalancing — BitMEX Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/insurance-fund-changes"}]},{"content":"On July 23, 2026 — the same day as the closure announcement — a proposed class-action lawsuit was filed against BitMEX and co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed by plaintiffs BKX Services and David Namdar. The complaint alleges that BitMEX designed its liquidation system to retain excess customer collateral and route it into the exchange's insurance fund rather than returning it to liquidated users. BKX Services claims losses of at least 305.81 BTC, while Namdar claims losses of more than 316.85 BTC, for a combined alleged loss of 622.66 BTC valued at approximately $40 million at the time of filing. The complaint also alleges that an internal BitMEX trading desk had access to private customer order-flow information and was able to continue trading during server outages that prevented other users from closing positions. These are allegations at the complaint stage; no court has adjudicated the merits. A similar proposed class-action filed in 2020 on related liquidation allegations was closed in June 2025 without a ruling on the merits.","heading":"Proposed Class-Action Lawsuit (July 2026)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto exchange BitMEX sued for 623 bitcoin as it prepares to shut down — CoinDesk","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/24/bitmex-faces-proposed-class-action-suit-for-theft-insider-trading-as-crypto-exchange-shuts-down"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX Faces $40M Class Action Over Alleged Bitcoin Theft — Bitcoin Foundation News","type":"news_article","url":"https://bitcoinfoundation.org/news/crypto-exchanges-news/bitmex-lawsuit/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX Liquidation Lawsuit Claims Insider Trading Abuse — Cryptonomist","type":"news_article","url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/07/24/bitmex-liquidation-lawsuit-claims/"}]},{"content":"In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Hayes, Delo, Reed, and employee Gregory Dwyer on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act by willfully failing to establish anti-money laundering and know-your-customer programs at BitMEX from at least November 2014 through 2020. On the same day, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil enforcement action alleging BitMEX operated an unregistered derivatives trading platform and served U.S. customers in violation of CFTC regulations. Hayes and Delo pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations in February 2022; Reed pleaded guilty in March 2022. Hayes was sentenced to six months of home confinement and two years of probation. Delo was sentenced to 30 months of probation. The CFTC reached a civil settlement under which BitMEX's operating entities paid $100 million to the CFTC and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The three co-founders were each ordered to pay a $10 million civil monetary penalty, for a combined $30 million. In 2024, BitMEX as an entity separately pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations covering the period 2015 to 2020. On March 28, 2025, President Donald Trump granted full and unconditional pardons to Hayes, Delo, Reed, and Dwyer, clearing their federal convictions.","heading":"Historical Regulatory and Criminal Actions (2020–2025)","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Charges BitMEX Owners with Illegally Operating a Cryptocurrency Derivatives Trading Platform — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8270-20"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Court Orders BitMEX's Three Co-Founders to Pay a Total of $30 Million — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8522-22"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Court Orders BitMEX to Pay $100 Million — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8412-21"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo Plead Guilty to Violating US Law — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/24/bitmex-founders-arthur-hayes-ben-delo-plead-guilty-to-violating-us-law"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto Exchange BitMEX Pleads Guilty to Violating the Bank Secrecy Act From 2015 to 2020 — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/10/crypto-exchange-bitmex-pleads-guilty-to-violating-the-bank-secrecy-act-from-2015-to-2020"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-28/trump-pardons-bitmex-co-founders-arthur-hayes-benjamin-delo-and-samuel-reed"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Trump pardons three BitMEX crypto exchange co-founders, and ex-employee — CNBC","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-exchange-money-laundering.html"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Exchange to Sunset on 23 September at 04:00 UTC (official announcement)","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX notifies users that it is shutting down operations after an 11-year run — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/07/23/bitmex-s-11-year-run-comes-to-an-end-notifies-users-it-is-ending-operations-in-by-sept-23"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX sale collapsed as buyers balked at founder ownership and shrinking business — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/31/bitmex-sale-collapsed-as-buyers-balked-at-founder-ownership-and-shrinking-business"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto exchange BitMEX sued for 623 bitcoin as it prepares to shut down — CoinDesk","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/24/bitmex-faces-proposed-class-action-suit-for-theft-insider-trading-as-crypto-exchange-shuts-down"},{"credibility":1,"name":"What Happens to BitMEX's $3 Billion Fund Once the Exchange Sunsets — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-08-04/what-happens-to-bitmex-s-3-billion-fund-once-the-exchange-sunsets"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-28/trump-pardons-bitmex-co-founders-arthur-hayes-benjamin-delo-and-samuel-reed"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Trump pardons three BitMEX crypto exchange co-founders, and ex-employee — CNBC","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-exchange-money-laundering.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Charges BitMEX Owners with Illegally Operating a Cryptocurrency Derivatives Trading Platform — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8270-20"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Court Orders BitMEX's Three Co-Founders to Pay a Total of $30 Million — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8522-22"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Court Orders BitMEX to Pay $100 Million — CFTC","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8412-21"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo Plead Guilty to Violating US Law — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/24/bitmex-founders-arthur-hayes-ben-delo-plead-guilty-to-violating-us-law"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto Exchange BitMEX Pleads Guilty to Violating the Bank Secrecy Act From 2015 to 2020 — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/10/crypto-exchange-bitmex-pleads-guilty-to-violating-the-bank-secrecy-act-from-2015-to-2020"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the mystery of BitMEX's insurance fund — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/inside-the-mystery-of-bitmexs-insurance-fund/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to close, but what about its $270M insurance fund? — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/bitmex-to-close-but-what-about-its-270m-insurance-fund/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Flashbots Executive: BitMEX Insurance Fund Structure May Have Led to Closure — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/flashbots-executive-bitmex-insurance-fund-structure-may-have-led-to-closure"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Hasu: BitMEX's Insurance Fund Structural and Legal Issues Hinder Sale and Closure — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/hasu-bitmex-s-insurance-fund-structural-and-legal-issues-hinder-sale-and-closure"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX Insurance Rebalancing — BitMEX Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/insurance-fund-changes"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX to Shutdown in September 2026: What Happens to Its $270M Insurance Fund? — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/blog/bitmex-to-shutdown-in-september-2026"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto exchange BitMEX seeks buyer, taps Broadhaven Capital Partners — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/343829/crypto-exchange-bitmex-seeks-buyer-taps-broadhaven-capital-partners-to-help-with-sale-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitMEX spent two years seeking buyer before shutdown — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/bitmex-spent-two-years-seeking-buyer-before-shutdown/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"State of Crypto Perpetuals Report 2026 — CoinGecko","type":"research","url":"https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/state-of-crypto-perpetuals-report-2026"},{"credibility":2,"name":"As BitMEX Turns 10, the Market Is Still Thankful for the Perpetual Swap — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/11/as-bit-mex-turns-10-the-market-is-still-thankful-for-the-perpetual-swap"},{"credibility":1,"name":"BitMEX to shut down permanently — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/409495/bitmex-to-shut-down-permanently"},{"credibility":2,"name":"3 Real Reasons Why BitMEX is Shutting Down — BeinCrypto / Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/3-real-reasons-why-bitmex-201321849.html"}],"summary":"BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that pioneered the perpetual swap contract, announced on July 23, 2026 that it would permanently cease operations on September 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, after an 11-year run. The closure follows a failed two-year sale process and is accompanied by a time-sensitive user harm vector: any verified user who fails to withdraw funds before the cutoff faces an indefinite monthly custody fee, and a proposed class-action lawsuit filed on the day of the announcement alleges that the exchange's liquidation mechanism improperly diverted customer collateral into its insurance fund throughout the platform's history.","timeline":[{"date":"2014-11-24","event":"BitMEX launches live trading under HDR Global Trading Limited, founded by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/409495/bitmex-to-shut-down-permanently"},{"date":"2016-05-13","event":"BitMEX introduces the XBTUSD perpetual swap contract, which becomes the platform's flagship product and an industry-wide standard.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/11/as-bit-mex-turns-10-the-market-is-still-thankful-for-the-perpetual-swap"},{"date":"2020-10-01","event":"The DOJ indicts Hayes, Delo, Reed, and Dwyer on Bank Secrecy Act charges. The CFTC files a parallel civil enforcement action the same day.","source":"CFTC Press Release","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8270-20"},{"date":"2021-08-10","event":"CFTC and FinCEN settle with BitMEX's operating entities for $100 million.","source":"CFTC Press Release","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8412-21"},{"date":"2022-02-24","event":"Hayes and Delo plead guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/24/bitmex-founders-arthur-hayes-ben-delo-plead-guilty-to-violating-us-law"},{"date":"2022-03-01","event":"Reed pleads guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations.","source":"DOJ / Willkie Compliance Concourse","source_url":"https://complianceconcourse.willkie.com/articles/news-alerts-2022-08-august-20220816-former-bitmex-executive-pleads-guilty-to-bsa-violations"},{"date":"2022-05-01","event":"Federal court orders the three co-founders to pay a combined $30 million civil monetary penalty to the CFTC.","source":"CFTC Press Release","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8522-22"},{"date":"2024-07-10","event":"BitMEX as a corporate entity pleads guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations covering 2015–2020.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/10/crypto-exchange-bitmex-pleads-guilty-to-violating-the-bank-secrecy-act-from-2015-to-2020"},{"date":"2025-02-01","event":"BitMEX retains investment bank Broadhaven Capital Partners to advise on a potential sale of the business, per CoinDesk reporting.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/343829/crypto-exchange-bitmex-seeks-buyer-taps-broadhaven-capital-partners-to-help-with-sale-report"},{"date":"2025-03-28","event":"President Trump grants full and unconditional pardons to Hayes, Delo, Reed, and Dwyer, clearing their federal Bank Secrecy Act convictions.","source":"Bloomberg","source_url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-28/trump-pardons-bitmex-co-founders-arthur-hayes-benjamin-delo-and-samuel-reed"},{"date":"2025-06-01","event":"A 2020 proposed class action related to BitMEX liquidation practices is closed without a ruling on the merits.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/24/bitmex-faces-proposed-class-action-suit-for-theft-insider-trading-as-crypto-exchange-shuts-down"},{"date":"2025-11-18","event":"BitMEX rebalances its insurance fund, reducing it from approximately 13,000–14,000 BTC to approximately 3,600 BTC. The exchange offers no public explanation for the disposition of the removed BTC.","source":"BitMEX Official Blog / Protos","source_url":"https://protos.com/inside-the-mystery-of-bitmexs-insurance-fund/"},{"date":"2026-07-23","event":"HDR Global Trading Limited announces BitMEX will permanently close on September 23, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, citing a strategic review. New account registrations halted immediately. A proposed class-action lawsuit alleging improper liquidations is filed on the same day.","source":"BitMEX Official Blog / CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"date":"2026-07-31","event":"CoinDesk reports that BitMEX's sale process collapsed after prospective buyers, including Exodus, rejected the business due to founder equity concentration and declining volumes.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/31/bitmex-sale-collapsed-as-buyers-balked-at-founder-ownership-and-shrinking-business"},{"date":"2026-08-04","event":"Bloomberg publishes an investigation into the fate of BitMEX's insurance fund, reporting the exchange declined to comment on plans for the residual balance.","source":"Bloomberg","source_url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-08-04/what-happens-to-bitmex-s-3-billion-fund-once-the-exchange-sunsets"},{"date":"2026-08-26","event":"Risk limits take effect: BitMEX users may only reduce existing positions and cannot open new ones.","source":"BitMEX Official Blog","source_url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"},{"date":"2026-09-23","event":"BitMEX permanently ceases exchange operations at 04:00 UTC. Remaining open positions are force-closed. Custody fees begin accruing on any unwithdra balances held by KYC-verified users.","source":"BitMEX Official Blog","source_url":"https://www.bitmex.com/blog/bitmex-closure"}]},"v":1}