BitMEX will stop accepting new positions on Monday at 04:00 UTC, starting a roughly month-long wind-down that ends with a full shutdown on Sept. 23. The exchange's board of directors, HDR Global Trading Limited, made the call after a strategic review, and BitMEX said the closure isn't tied to a hack, financial distress, or regulatory pressure.
Reduce-only mode begins Monday
Starting at 04:00 UTC on Aug. 26, traders can't open new positions on BitMEX. They'll only be able to close existing ones. Between then and the final shutdown, the exchange may force-close positions to keep the process orderly. BitMEX also made clear it takes no responsibility for trading losses that come from users being unable to close out during that window.
The wind-down and final closure
On Sept. 23 at 04:00 UTC, BitMEX will force-close every remaining position, using the relevant settlement price or contract index. Funds will land in each user's wallet balance. That's the end of trading. After that, the exchange keeps a limited account interface — users can view wallet balances and transaction history, and access withdrawal pages. The trading interface and other services go dark.
Fees and withdrawals after the cutoff
If you leave a fully verified balance on BitMEX after Sept. 23, the exchange will charge a monthly fee of 1% per year or $50, whichever is greater, until you withdraw. The fee only gets deducted from whatever remains, and it can't push the balance negative or leave you owing money. If the balance sits below the minimum withdrawal amount, the fee can reduce it to zero.
Then, on Sept. 28 at 04:00 UTC, API withdrawals get turned off entirely. That includes institutional integrations like Fireblocks and Copper. You'll have to log into the website and do it manually. After that change, BitMEX only supports withdrawals of USDT, USDC, and ETH on Ethereum.
What's left after the shutdown
Once the exchange closes, there's no trading, no new orders, no API. But it's not a complete blackout — the wallet view and withdrawal pages stay up, and the fee structure is meant to push users to clean out their balances. The final deadline to move money without a fee is effectively Sept. 28 for anyone using automated tools, though manual withdrawals will keep working until the balance hits zero or the user stops logging in.
