Crypto exchange BitMEX has been quietly seeking a buyer for the past two years before finally deciding to shut down. Broadhaven Capital Partners, a merger and acquisition advisory firm, has assisted in this process since late 2024 to pursue a target valuation of $1 billion. However, both the crypto wallet company Exodus and rival exchanges on the candidate list ultimately decided against submitting official offers.
This deadlock led parent company HDR Global Trading to take the final path: shutting down BitMEX. According to the schedule, the platform will enter reduce-only mode starting August 26, 2026, prohibiting users from opening new trading positions. Official operations will then stop completely on September 23, 2026, ending the journey of the exchange that has operated for 11 years.
Obstacles Behind the Ownership Structure
The main reason for the failure of the talks was not just the $1 billion price tag, but obstacles in the equity structure. The founders of BitMEX - Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed - are recorded as still holding the majority portion of the company’s equity. The three have no longer managed daily operations since facing criminal charges from the United States government in 2020.
The dominant share control in the hands of these three individuals made the incentive structure for the acquisition process a complicated matter to arrange. Potential buyers chose to withdraw, reluctant to take on the complexity of this ownership legacy. BitMEX ran out of time and options after conducting negotiations for two years without any definitive results.
Overtaken by Their Own Invention
The death of BitMEX highlights an irony in the crypto market. It was this exchange that popularized the perpetual swap instrument by launching the XBTUSD contract in 2016. However, while their management was busy negotiating a sale, trading activity continued to decline, and its market share was captured by fresher players offering the same product.
Hyperliquid now leads the trading volume of this perpetual instrument. Throughout 2025, the derivatives exchange recorded a notional volume of $2.6 trillion - nearly double Coinbase’s recorded volume of $1.4 trillion, according to Artemis data. Trading activity on BitMEX faded while other exchanges grew using the original pioneer’s innovation.
Unresolved Legal Troubles
Although Hayes, Delo, and Reed received presidential pardons in 2025 after pleading guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations, the exchange’s legal track record is not yet entirely clean. BitMEX is still facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States over a forced liquidation case that harmed its customers. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are demanding compensation of 622.66 BTC plus damages.
The end of the story for this pioneer of crypto derivatives exchanges is marked not only by market defeat, but also by a mountain of court cases that continue to follow even as their operations prepare to shut down.
Reported from crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
