A new class action lawsuit filed in New York this week accuses BitMEX of engineering liquidations and holding onto 622.66 bitcoin in customer collateral that should have been returned. The complaint, filed July 23 in the Southern District of New York, comes as the exchange is already winding down operations under a regulator-approved plan.
The allegations
Plaintiffs BK Services Inc. and David Namdar say they lost a combined 622.66 BTC through BitMEX's liquidation engine. BK Services claims it lost 305.809 BTC in 2018; Namdar says he lost 316.856 BTC between 2019 and 2020. The lawsuit alleges the exchange's system closed positions when unrealized losses hit about half of posted collateral — then seized the remaining collateral instead of returning it.
The complaint also describes an undisclosed internal trading desk that could see customer positions, hidden orders, and liquidation points. That desk used anonymized accounts and could trade during server freezes that locked out ordinary customers, according to the filing.
BitMEX's response
BitMEX CEO Peter Wilkinson called the lawsuit “spurious and opportunistic” and said the company would defend itself vigorously. This isn't the first legal fight over the exchange's liquidation practices. A previous class action under the Commodity Exchange Act was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice in June 2025.
Timing and the wind-down
BitMEX is in the middle of a regulator-approved wind-down. Exchange services are set to cease on September 23, 2026, with reduce-only trading starting August 26. The Financial Services Authority of Seychelles said July 23 that HDR Global Trading Limited — BitMEX's parent — voluntarily withdrew its pending virtual-asset license application on the same day the lawsuit was filed.
The wind-down plan covers client-held assets but is silent on the disputed bitcoin from historical liquidations. That's where this lawsuit comes in. The plaintiffs are seeking return of the specific bitcoin — a legal remedy called replevin — rather than just dollar damages, under claims for replevin and fraud.
The allegations haven't been proven in court. BitMEX has until late August to respond to the complaint. Meanwhile, the exchange's final days are ticking down — and this lawsuit adds another layer of uncertainty for anyone still holding a claim against the platform.
