BitMEX Halts Crypto Trading, but Keeps Withdrawals Open Following Closure

BitMEX, which was behind the innovation of perpetual futures, marked the end of an era after closing its exchange services, except for withdrawals, on Wednesday. “Trading, deposits, and opening new positions are not available on or after 04:00 UTC Tuesday,” BitMEX said in a post on X. It is still possible for users to access the website and withdraw their balance from it, but it has been clearly stated by the company that deposits can no longer be made. There have been security steps implemented gradually to ensure the safety of users while withdrawing their balance.

BitMEX Closure Follows Strategy Review by Parent Company

BitMEX, founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, encouraged its customers to withdraw their money and announced that the account fee is charged to KYC-verified users having a balance on the platform. The account fee is calculated at an annualised rate of 1 percent of assets per month or a minimum of $50 (roughly Rs. 4,700), whichever is greater. 

This closure marks the end of an 11-year streak for an exchange that played an important role in bringing about the perpetual swap, which has become the most popular derivatives trading product in the cryptosphere. However, BitMEX's closure does not constitute a freeze of customer funds since the exchange emphasised that withdrawals are still possible as it shuts down. BitMEX had announced its closure in July after completing a strategy review by its parent company, HDR Global Trading.

At the peak of operations in the market expansion in 2019, the exchange traded more than $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 95,73,000 crore) in annual trading volume, representing approximately 57 percent of the world's market share in crypto derivatives. The exchange was breaking records as the daily turnover exceeded 1 million Bitcoins, valued at over $8 billion (roughly Rs. 76,584 crore). 

BitMart also announced it was shutting down in July due to market conditions after nine years in business. According to the shutdown process that has been laid out, BitMart ceased accepting any new users or deposits, futures trading has entered reduced-only mode, and spot order books were closed. According to data from CoinGecko, the native token of BitMart, BMX, also witnessed a depreciation of more than 70 percent in value.