TL;DR
- BitMEX officially shut down its exchange operations on September 23, 2026, eleven years after its launch in 2014.
- The platform no longer allows trading or deposits, but withdrawals remain active; withdrawal APIs will be deactivated on September 28.
- HDR Global Trading Limited attributed the closure to a strategic business review, and did not link it to any legal or regulatory issues.
BitMEX ceased all exchange operations at 4:00 UTC on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, two months after publicly announcing its closure plan.
The platform, which had been one of the world’s leading crypto derivatives venues since its launch in 2014, stopped offering trading and deposits, though it keeps the withdrawal function active so users can recover their funds through the website.
BitMEX’s exchange operations have officially ended as of 04:00 UTC today, 23 September 2026.
Your funds remain completely safe. Login and withdrawal capabilities remain available, and we strongly encourage all users to withdraw their remaining withdrawable balances as soon as… https://t.co/Pah1NpTJ6I
— BitMEX (@BitMEX) September 23, 2026
As part of the gradual wind-down process, BitMEX will deactivate withdrawals via application programming interface (API) on September 28, requiring users to manage their operations exclusively through the web platform. The company assured that funds are safe and urged its clients to withdraw remaining balances without further delay.
Why Is BitMEX Closing?
HDR Global Trading Limited, the exchange’s owner and operator, indicated that the decision stemmed from a strategic review of the business and the overall state of the crypto industry. The company was emphatic in dissociating the closure from any legal or regulatory conflict, a point that carries particular relevance given the context in which the definitive shutdown takes place.
The original closure announcement was made on July 23, 2026, when BitMEX communicated that it would cease its services on September 23 after more than eleven years of activity. Founded in 2014, the platform popularized perpetual contracts with leverage of up to 100 times, becoming a benchmark in the digital derivatives market for much of its history.
Celsius Lawsuit
The closure comes days after the bankruptcy estate of Celsius filed a lawsuit against five companies linked to the exchange, alleging fraud, market manipulation, and irregular liquidations related to 6,360 Bitcoin during the market collapse of March 2020.
The lawsuit seeks Bitcoin valued at approximately $490 million at the time it was filed, though the company did not acknowledge any connection between that legal proceeding and its decision to cease operations.
