BitMEX is one of the world's largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, renowned for its deep liquidity and professional trading dashboard. In 2016, BitMEX created and launched perpetual leveraged swap contracts on Bitcoin, allowing traders to trade Bitcoin futures with up to 100x leverage and no expiry date. This innovative new crypto derivative helped BitMEX become one of the highest-volume Bitcoin exchanges in the world.
Arkham has disclosed that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes' estimated net worth in 2026 could range between $200 million and $350 million, with verifiable on-chain assets totaling approximately $42 million. His wealth primarily stems from his BitMEX equity, his family office Maelstrom fund, and potential undisclosed token investments. Although BitMEX has significantly declined from its 2019 peak (with an annual trading volume exceeding $1 trillion and a valuation of around $3.6 billion), its current valuation stands at approximately $500 million, yet it still constitutes a core component of his asset base.Arthur Hayes was previously sentenced in 2022 for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and was later pardoned by Donald Trump in 2025. Despite navigating regulatory controversies, he remains influential in the crypto industry, particularly active in innovating perpetual swaps and sharing market perspectives.Overall, Arthur Hayes is still regarded as a key opinion leader in the crypto market, with his asset structure closely correlated to market cycles.
Fu Peng, Chief Economist of Xinhuo Group, posted on X stating that commodity ETFs are essentially regulatory-compliant products packaging the business model of “holding commodities long-term and generating rental income continuously.” Fund companies focus not on the commodity market’s outlook but rather on the asset’s ability to generate “rent” consistently. Since BitMEX launched the world’s first BTC perpetual contract and introduced the funding rate mechanism on May 13, 2016, long-term BTC holders have been able to earn rental income through hedging operations—transforming BTC from a pure faith-based speculative asset into a “rental asset” with stable positive cash flow logic. The costs paid by retail participants when trading derivatives constitute the foundation for large-position holders’ risk-free hedging rental income. This income is then packaged into ETF-like products sold to liquidity providers (LPs), whose raised capital is subsequently used to purchase Bitcoin—creating a virtuous cycle that reduces volatility and reinforces BTC’s income-generating attributes.
Odaily Odaily News Crypto derivatives platform BitMEX is facing a proposed class action lawsuit, with BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs allege they incurred combined losses of 622.66 BTC from forced liquidations on BitMEX, with BKX claiming losses of at least 305.81 BTC and Namdar claiming losses exceeding 316.85 BTC. The complaint alleges that BitMEX's internal trading desk had access to customers' private information and could continue trading during periods when the server was frozen and regular users were unable to access or close positions. The plaintiffs further claim that BitMEX allowed customers to use leverage of up to 100x and would automatically liquidate positions when the collateral value was still twice the loss amount, with the remaining BTC entering the platform's insurance fund. The plaintiffs are seeking the return of the allegedly withheld Bitcoin, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. They intend to represent U.S. customers who purchased BTC swap products since July 23, 2018. On the same day the lawsuit was filed, BitMEX announced that following a strategic review by its owner, HDR Global Trading, it will cease providing services on September 23, has already stopped accepting new registrations, and plans to prohibit users from opening new positions starting August 26.
: Crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX has announced it will shut down, with trading scheduled to conclude on September 23. Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, BitMEX made the decision after a strategic review by its parent company, HDR Global Trading. BitMEX played a pioneering role in making perpetual contracts a key product in digital asset derivatives trading. Data from CryptoQuant shows that its Bitcoin futures daily trading volume began to decline around May 2021 and has failed to recover to its peak daily range of $1 billion to $5 billion seen in 2020. Restructuring advisor Roshan Dharia stated that mid-tier centralized exchanges face structural pressures, with liquidity increasingly concentrating on larger platforms and compliance costs rising. He noted that the top five platforms are currently estimated to control 80% of global spot trading volume, while mid-tier and regional exchanges are seeing narrowing profit margins and lack clear paths to scale. According to CoinGecko data, BitMEX ranked ninth among derivatives exchanges in August 2023, holding a 0.9% market share. By 2025, it was no longer among the top ten perpetual contract exchanges. Over the same period, these platforms saw their annual perpetual contract trading volume grow by 47.4%, reaching $86.2 trillion.
CZ expressed regret over BitMEX's closure announcement, recalling that BitMEX pioneered the 100x leveraged perpetual contract in the crypto market in 2014, driving industry development.CZ noted that BitMEX only supported BTC deposits and single-chain operations at the time, and adopted a once-daily, multi-signature wallet batch withdrawal process. These seemingly inconvenient designs, he said, actually helped the platform avoid hacker attacks over the long term.He also mentioned that BitMEX's four co-founders admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) one month before their trial, each being fined $10 million and sentenced to home detention, with no prison time. However, CZ believes that BitMEX's business ultimately couldn't withstand the "War on Crypto" during the Biden administration.In conclusion, CZ stated that BitMEX is currently winding down in an orderly fashion, users can still withdraw assets, and he paid tribute to co-founder Arthur Hayes.
According to an official announcement, crypto exchange BitMEX will officially close at 12:00 (Beijing time) on September 23, 2026, and will stop new user registrations immediately. BitMEX stated that the board of directors of its parent company, HDR Global Trading Limited, decided to close the exchange after a strategic review.
Odaily News, June 9th — BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes stated in his latest article "Reality Test" that if oil prices continue to rise due to the US-Iran conflict, it could trigger a collapse of the AI stock bubble and drag the entire crypto market down.Hayes said that if traffic restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz persist deep into the second quarter, spot prices for hydrocarbons and other key commodities could rise in the third quarter. If oil prices continue to climb and inflationary pressures impact the US midterm elections, Trump might pivot to a tough stance targeting data center construction, AI regulation, and taxation. Hayes believes the market could anticipate Trump limiting AI capital expenditure and taxing AI companies, thereby triggering the burst of the AI stock bubble.Hayes also noted that since November 2022, the scale of AI-related debt issuance has been approximately $1.5 trillion, and US M2 has increased by roughly the same amount during the same period. He believes the three factors that could pop the AI bubble include rising energy costs, the market's inability to absorb three major AI-related IPOs — namely SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI — and Trump's shift to opposing AI. In terms of portfolio, Hayes stated that Maelstrom's stock portfolio holds significant positions in US-listed energy producers; he has sold AI-related stocks and offloaded non-core crypto assets, having dumped HYPE, NEAR, and WLD last week, as well as selling ZEC due to the Orchard Pool vulnerability. He still holds Bitcoin and ETH and will execute tactical short trades via derivatives.
The UK Labour Party has formally written to Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, accusing him of "avoiding legitimate scrutiny" regarding a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) donation from Tether shareholder and billionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024.Harborne holds approximately 12% of Tether shares and is worth around $24.4 billion. Labour Party Chair Anna Turley stated that Farage should provide a clear public explanation to the public about the use of these funds and related circumstances, rather than continuing to evade questions from the media and regulatory bodies.Currently, the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has launched a formal investigation into the matter to assess whether the funds were used for political activities. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also publicly questioned why Farage has kept this donation hidden for an extended period.Data shows that Harborne has donated a total of approximately £12 million ($16 million) to Reform UK, including the largest single personal political donation in modern UK political history. Additionally, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated £4 million to the party in the first quarter of 2026, making Reform UK one of the most well-funded political parties in the UK. (Decrypt)
Odaily News: According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a newly created wallet has withdrawn 468.3 BTC from BitMEX, valued at approximately $29.88 million. This marks the first single withdrawal exceeding $10 million since BitMEX announced its closure.
According to Cointelegraph, ARK Invest researcher Lorenzo Valente noted in a post on July 30 that the cryptocurrency industry is entering the largest consolidation phase in history. As investors become increasingly strict in screening projects, revenue is accelerating towards concentration among a few top protocols—Hyperliquid and Pump.fun collectively account for approximately 67% of the industry's application revenue, and with Ethena included, the combined share of the top three approaches 80%. Valente expects this trend to accelerate in the coming months, triggering more M&A, bankruptcies, and project closures. Meanwhile, BitMEX and BitMart recently announced the shutdown of trading services in succession, further confirming the consolidation trend. Valente believes that this round of consolidation is "extremely beneficial" for the long-term development of the crypto industry.
according to Onchain Lens monitoring, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes (0x6cd...7e21) has received 5 million USDC from Galaxy Digital OTC Desk.
crypto exchange BitMart announced it will gradually wind down its trading platform business after nine years of operation. The platform halted new user registrations, deposits, and order placements at 01:30 UTC on July 26. All spot and derivatives trading will cease on August 26, and the platform is scheduled to officially shut down on January 31, 2027. BitMart stated that withdrawals will remain open, but checks related to identity, devices, sanctions, and funding sources may slow processing speeds. The company attributed the closure to its operational status, market conditions, and future strategic direction. Its native token, BMX, has fallen 81% over the past week to $0.057, bringing its market cap down to $19.6 million. BitMart previously suffered a loss of $196 million in December 2021 due to a hot wallet vulnerability, and covered the customer losses. Perpetual contract platform BitMEX also recently announced it will shut down after 11 years of operation, making BitMart the second major crypto exchange to announce a closure within a week.
According to monitoring by on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes received 644.723 ETH from FalconX 8 hours ago, valued at approximately $1.2 million. The amount is consistent with the USDC transferred 3 days ago, highly likely to be a buy operation. Since July 15, Arthur Hayes has cumulatively purchased 3914.84 ETH through multiple market makers and trading platforms, with an average buy price of $1908.86, currently facing an unrealized loss of approximately $113,000.
CZ expressed regret over BitMEX's closure announcement, recalling that BitMEX pioneered the 100x leveraged perpetual contract in the crypto market in 2014, driving industry development.CZ noted that BitMEX only supported BTC deposits and single-chain operations at the time, and adopted a once-daily, multi-signature wallet batch withdrawal process. These seemingly inconvenient designs, he said, actually helped the platform avoid hacker attacks over the long term.He also mentioned that BitMEX's four co-founders admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) one month before their trial, each being fined $10 million and sentenced to home detention, with no prison time. However, CZ believes that BitMEX's business ultimately couldn't withstand the "War on Crypto" during the Biden administration.In conclusion, CZ stated that BitMEX is currently winding down in an orderly fashion, users can still withdraw assets, and he paid tribute to co-founder Arthur Hayes.
crypto exchange BitMart announced it will gradually wind down its trading platform business after nine years of operation. The platform halted new user registrations, deposits, and order placements at 01:30 UTC on July 26. All spot and derivatives trading will cease on August 26, and the platform is scheduled to officially shut down on January 31, 2027. BitMart stated that withdrawals will remain open, but checks related to identity, devices, sanctions, and funding sources may slow processing speeds. The company attributed the closure to its operational status, market conditions, and future strategic direction. Its native token, BMX, has fallen 81% over the past week to $0.057, bringing its market cap down to $19.6 million. BitMart previously suffered a loss of $196 million in December 2021 due to a hot wallet vulnerability, and covered the customer losses. Perpetual contract platform BitMEX also recently announced it will shut down after 11 years of operation, making BitMart the second major crypto exchange to announce a closure within a week.
CZ expressed regret over BitMEX's closure announcement, recalling that BitMEX pioneered the 100x leveraged perpetual contract in the crypto market in 2014, driving industry development.CZ noted that BitMEX only supported BTC deposits and single-chain operations at the time, and adopted a once-daily, multi-signature wallet batch withdrawal process. These seemingly inconvenient designs, he said, actually helped the platform avoid hacker attacks over the long term.He also mentioned that BitMEX's four co-founders admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) one month before their trial, each being fined $10 million and sentenced to home detention, with no prison time. However, CZ believes that BitMEX's business ultimately couldn't withstand the "War on Crypto" during the Biden administration.In conclusion, CZ stated that BitMEX is currently winding down in an orderly fashion, users can still withdraw assets, and he paid tribute to co-founder Arthur Hayes.
Odaily News, June 9th — BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes stated in his latest article "Reality Test" that if oil prices continue to rise due to the US-Iran conflict, it could trigger a collapse of the AI stock bubble and drag the entire crypto market down.Hayes said that if traffic restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz persist deep into the second quarter, spot prices for hydrocarbons and other key commodities could rise in the third quarter. If oil prices continue to climb and inflationary pressures impact the US midterm elections, Trump might pivot to a tough stance targeting data center construction, AI regulation, and taxation. Hayes believes the market could anticipate Trump limiting AI capital expenditure and taxing AI companies, thereby triggering the burst of the AI stock bubble.Hayes also noted that since November 2022, the scale of AI-related debt issuance has been approximately $1.5 trillion, and US M2 has increased by roughly the same amount during the same period. He believes the three factors that could pop the AI bubble include rising energy costs, the market's inability to absorb three major AI-related IPOs — namely SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI — and Trump's shift to opposing AI. In terms of portfolio, Hayes stated that Maelstrom's stock portfolio holds significant positions in US-listed energy producers; he has sold AI-related stocks and offloaded non-core crypto assets, having dumped HYPE, NEAR, and WLD last week, as well as selling ZEC due to the Orchard Pool vulnerability. He still holds Bitcoin and ETH and will execute tactical short trades via derivatives.
Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes), co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom Fund, stated in a post that he has liquidated his entire $ZEC position following a vulnerability exploit targeting ZEC’s Orchard Pool. Hayes noted that although malicious minting is highly unlikely, it cannot be cryptographically proven impossible; privacy narratives demand “perfection,” not merely “probable security.” He added that if the underlying assumptions are later falsified, he does not rule out repurchasing $ZEC at a lower price. His team continues to hold a $WLD position and maintains a bullish stance.
According to CoinDesk, while quantum computers cannot break Bitcoin’s mining mechanism or blockchain ledger, they could potentially crack the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) that secures wallet ownership—using Shor’s algorithm. Currently, approximately 6.9 million BTC—roughly one-third of the total supply—are at potential risk because their public keys are already visible on-chain; this includes Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated early holdings of about 1 million BTC. Transactions generated after Ethereum’s 2021 Taproot upgrade are similarly exposed due to public key disclosure. Ethereum has maintained an official post-quantum migration plan since 2018, with four full-time teams and over ten independent development groups, and operates a dedicated progress website at pq.ethereum.org. In contrast, Bitcoin currently lacks a unified roadmap for quantum resistance: existing proposals such as BIP-360 and BitMEX Research’s detection framework have not gained broad support among core developers. Prominent Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has bluntly labeled Bitcoin’s quantum response “the worst,” while Blockstream CEO Adam Back acknowledges that current quantum systems remain confined to laboratory settings—but still endorses deploying optional upgrade paths in advance. Analysts note that Bitcoin’s decentralized governance culture makes coordinating large-scale security upgrades extremely difficult, and resolving historical issues—such as how to handle Satoshi’s holdings—presents a particularly thorny dilemma. A related Google paper warns that once quantum attacks become feasible, the window for effective response may already have closed.
BitMEX Research published an article proposing an alternative soft fork to BIP-361, suggesting that dormant bitcoins vulnerable to quantum attacks be frozen only upon confirmed existence of a quantum computer capable of stealing bitcoins. The proposal introduces a “canary fund” mechanism: a special bitcoin address whose private key is unknown but theoretically crackable by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer; users may donate BTC to this address as a bounty. If funds are spent from this address, it signals confirmed quantum threat and automatically triggers the freezing mechanism. BitMEX Research states that this proposal serves as a less contentious alternative to the more controversial BIP-361.
According to Cointelegraph, BitMEX was sued in a class-action lawsuit by BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 24. The plaintiffs allege that BitMEX's internal trading team used privileged access during server freezes to illegally obtain customer Bitcoin collateral by manipulating the forced liquidation mechanism. The two plaintiffs suffered a combined loss of 622.66 BTC (BKX lost at least 305.81 BTC, and Namdar lost over 316.85 BTC). The plaintiffs demand the return of the seized Bitcoin and seek compensatory and punitive damages, representing U.S. users who purchased BTC swap products since July 23, 2018. Notably, the lawsuit was filed on the same day as the announcement of BitMEX's closure—BitMEX's parent company HDR Global Trading announced it will cease services on September 23 and has stopped accepting new user registrations. Following the announcement, the price of its BMEX token plummeted by approximately 90%.
According to blockchain data analytics platform Bubblemaps, after BitMEX announced its closure, the price of its platform token BMEX dropped significantly, falling approximately 95% from its previous levels. However, based on the tokenomics publicly disclosed by BitMEX, about 75% of the total BMEX supply was originally planned for employee incentives, ecosystem development, and long-term reserves, but these tokens were never distributed on-chain. Data shows that approximately 92% of the BMEX supply was locked in vesting contracts in 2021, with the remaining 8% distributed at the token launch, including: 5% for airdrops and 3% for product and liquidity support.On November 2, 2022, the product and liquidity address claimed approximately 63.75 million BMEX, while addresses designated for employee incentives, ecosystem growth, and long-term reserves did not claim any tokens. Bubblemaps stated that this does not necessarily indicate a problem, as the project may have subsequently adjusted its tokenomics, contracts, or distribution plans, which were not reflected on-chain.
CZ expressed regret over BitMEX's closure announcement, recalling that BitMEX pioneered the 100x leveraged perpetual contract in the crypto market in 2014, driving industry development.CZ noted that BitMEX only supported BTC deposits and single-chain operations at the time, and adopted a once-daily, multi-signature wallet batch withdrawal process. These seemingly inconvenient designs, he said, actually helped the platform avoid hacker attacks over the long term.He also mentioned that BitMEX's four co-founders admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) one month before their trial, each being fined $10 million and sentenced to home detention, with no prison time. However, CZ believes that BitMEX's business ultimately couldn't withstand the "War on Crypto" during the Biden administration.In conclusion, CZ stated that BitMEX is currently winding down in an orderly fashion, users can still withdraw assets, and he paid tribute to co-founder Arthur Hayes.
BitMEX announced that it will officially close the exchange on September 23, 2026, at 04:00 (UTC), and has immediately halted new account registrations. The platform stated that users should close open positions and withdraw funds as soon as possible. Starting from August 26 at 04:00 (UTC), the platform will implement risk restrictions, prohibiting opening new positions and only allowing position reduction; before closure, the platform will also gradually forcibly liquidate existing positions. For users who have completed identity verification but have not withdrawn assets after the closure time, the platform will charge account fees at a rate of USD 50 equivalent per month or 1% annualized (whichever is higher).
According to CoinDesk, while quantum computers cannot break Bitcoin’s mining mechanism or blockchain ledger, they could potentially crack the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) that secures wallet ownership—using Shor’s algorithm. Currently, approximately 6.9 million BTC—roughly one-third of the total supply—are at potential risk because their public keys are already visible on-chain; this includes Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated early holdings of about 1 million BTC. Transactions generated after Ethereum’s 2021 Taproot upgrade are similarly exposed due to public key disclosure. Ethereum has maintained an official post-quantum migration plan since 2018, with four full-time teams and over ten independent development groups, and operates a dedicated progress website at pq.ethereum.org. In contrast, Bitcoin currently lacks a unified roadmap for quantum resistance: existing proposals such as BIP-360 and BitMEX Research’s detection framework have not gained broad support among core developers. Prominent Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has bluntly labeled Bitcoin’s quantum response “the worst,” while Blockstream CEO Adam Back acknowledges that current quantum systems remain confined to laboratory settings—but still endorses deploying optional upgrade paths in advance. Analysts note that Bitcoin’s decentralized governance culture makes coordinating large-scale security upgrades extremely difficult, and resolving historical issues—such as how to handle Satoshi’s holdings—presents a particularly thorny dilemma. A related Google paper warns that once quantum attacks become feasible, the window for effective response may already have closed.
BitMEX Research published an article proposing an alternative soft fork to BIP-361, suggesting that dormant bitcoins vulnerable to quantum attacks be frozen only upon confirmed existence of a quantum computer capable of stealing bitcoins. The proposal introduces a “canary fund” mechanism: a special bitcoin address whose private key is unknown but theoretically crackable by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer; users may donate BTC to this address as a bounty. If funds are spent from this address, it signals confirmed quantum threat and automatically triggers the freezing mechanism. BitMEX Research states that this proposal serves as a less contentious alternative to the more controversial BIP-361.
On-chain data shows that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes sold 2,364.38 ETH in the past two hours at an average selling price of approximately $1,821, incurring a loss of approximately $241,000, with a loss percentage of approximately 5.3%.
Odaily News: According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a newly created wallet has withdrawn 468.3 BTC from BitMEX, valued at approximately $29.88 million. This marks the first single withdrawal exceeding $10 million since BitMEX announced its closure.
According to Cointelegraph, ARK Invest researcher Lorenzo Valente noted in a post on July 30 that the cryptocurrency industry is entering the largest consolidation phase in history. As investors become increasingly strict in screening projects, revenue is accelerating towards concentration among a few top protocols—Hyperliquid and Pump.fun collectively account for approximately 67% of the industry's application revenue, and with Ethena included, the combined share of the top three approaches 80%. Valente expects this trend to accelerate in the coming months, triggering more M&A, bankruptcies, and project closures. Meanwhile, BitMEX and BitMart recently announced the shutdown of trading services in succession, further confirming the consolidation trend. Valente believes that this round of consolidation is "extremely beneficial" for the long-term development of the crypto industry.
according to Onchain Lens monitoring, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes (0x6cd...7e21) has received 5 million USDC from Galaxy Digital OTC Desk.
Bitcoin News posted on X platform, stating that a lawsuit alleges BitMEX seized 622 Bitcoin through server freezes and insider trading before its shutdown.
crypto exchange BitMart announced it will gradually wind down its trading platform business after nine years of operation. The platform halted new user registrations, deposits, and order placements at 01:30 UTC on July 26. All spot and derivatives trading will cease on August 26, and the platform is scheduled to officially shut down on January 31, 2027. BitMart stated that withdrawals will remain open, but checks related to identity, devices, sanctions, and funding sources may slow processing speeds. The company attributed the closure to its operational status, market conditions, and future strategic direction. Its native token, BMX, has fallen 81% over the past week to $0.057, bringing its market cap down to $19.6 million. BitMart previously suffered a loss of $196 million in December 2021 due to a hot wallet vulnerability, and covered the customer losses. Perpetual contract platform BitMEX also recently announced it will shut down after 11 years of operation, making BitMart the second major crypto exchange to announce a closure within a week.