The cryptocurrency market continues to experience a decline. While many exchanges and crypto projects have decided to shut down, the latest news comes from the biggest name in the market.
In this context, BitMEX, a pioneer in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, announced that it has decided to completely cease its exchange operations following a strategic review process.
Accordingly, BitMEX announced that it will cease exchange operations at 04:00 UTC on September 23, following a strategic review of its business model and the cryptocurrency sector.
According to the statement, the exchange announced that new user registrations have been immediately suspended, and requested that existing users close their open positions and withdraw assets from their accounts before the specified date.
BitMEX has stated that the closing process will be implemented gradually. Starting at 04:00 UTC on August 26th, users will no longer be able to open new positions and will only be able to reduce their existing ones. All open positions remaining before closing will be compulsorily liquidated before trading ends, and any positions still registered at closing will be liquidated immediately.
BitMEX added that after the closure, users would still be able to log in, check their balances, and withdraw assets, but trading services would no longer be available.
BitMEX also stated that users can continue to log in to their accounts, view their balances, and withdraw assets even after trading services cease. However, users who continue to leave assets in their accounts after closing, despite having completed the KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process, will be charged a monthly account custody fee of $50 or an annual fee of 1%, whichever is higher.
Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, BitMEX played a significant role in the development of the cryptocurrency derivatives market as one of its first major exchanges. Particularly noteworthy is its role in popularizing perpetual swap trading, maintaining its market leadership for many years.
However, since 2020, the company has faced various pressures, including lawsuits from the US Department of Justice and the CFTC. BitMEX, which lost its leadership in the derivatives market after 2014 to companies that entered the market later such as Binance, Bybit and OKX, attempted to sell, but no deal was finalized.
BitMEX’s decision to cease operations is seen as the official end of an era in the crypto derivatives market, with the withdrawal of one of the sector’s first major players once again highlighting the impact of regulatory pressures and increasing competition on the industry.
*This is not investment advice.
