BitMEX shutdown: what to check now for residual balances and your 2026 tax return

As of 04:00 UTC this morning, BitMEX no longer accepts trading orders. The exchange, which launched in 2014 and brought the perpetual swap with hundredfold leverage to the market, has ceased operations for good after eleven years. Anyone still holding an open position at that moment did not have to close it themselves: the exchange force-closed it. And anyone still holding a balance on the account now pays for the privilege. The decisive question today is therefore no longer whether you withdraw in time. That deadline has passed. The question is what applies now: which amounts end up in your 2026 tax return, which documents you need to secure while the account is still reachable, and what the account fee on a residual balance actually costs. What actually happened on BitMEX at 04:00 UTC on September 23 BitMEX announced the closure on July 23, 2026. The operator is HDR Global Trading Limited, based in the Seychelles; it cites a strategic review of the business as the reason for the step. New account openings were stopped when the announcement was made. The process ran in two stages. From August 26, 2026, also at 04:00 UTC, tightened risk limits applied: new positions could no longer...