BitMEX shut down on September 23 after 11 years, but the exchange still lets you log in to withdraw your funds. This guide walks through getting your crypto off a closing venue safely, reconciling the exact balances, and rebuilding your tracking on an active account so nothing falls through the cracks.
What happened to BitMEX and what does it mean for your funds?
BitMEX officially ceased trading operations on September 23, 2025, ending an 11-year run as the exchange that popularized the crypto perpetual swap. Co-founded by Arthur Hayes, it was where much of the industry first learned to trade perpetual futures with leverage.
The important mechanical point: the platform is closed for trading, not for withdrawals. Users can still log in to move their balances out. That window matters, because a closing exchange is a race against your own inattention, not a scramble for the exits.
- Trading, funding, and new positions are disabled.
- Withdrawals remain open so you can retrieve wallet balances and any settled margin.
- Open perpetual positions were settled or closed at shutdown, so what you have left is a cash-equivalent balance, not a live trade.
A perpetual swap is a futures contract with no expiry date, held open indefinitely as long as margin and funding payments are maintained. With BitMEX closed, none of that matters anymore. Your job is simply to get the remaining balance out and logged.
How do you safely withdraw crypto from a closing exchange?
Withdraw to a wallet you fully control, verify the address twice, and record every transaction before the withdrawal window narrows. Closing exchanges rarely vanish overnight, but support quality degrades fast once staff wind down.
Step-by-step withdrawal checklist
- Log in and confirm your total balance per asset (BTC, USDT, ETH, and any others).
- Prepare a destination wallet: either a hardware wallet you own or an account on an active exchange.
- Double-check the network. Sending USDT on the wrong chain (ERC-20 versus TRC-20) can lose funds permanently.
- Send a small test transaction first if the balance is large, then send the remainder once it confirms.
- Screenshot each confirmation and copy the transaction hash for your records.
Do not wait for a deadline. Fees, minimum-withdrawal thresholds, and support responsiveness all tend to worsen in the final weeks of a wind-down.
Why should you reconcile balances before you migrate?
Reconciliation means matching what BitMEX shows against what actually lands in your new wallet, so no crypto quietly disappears in transit. This is the step most people skip, and it is exactly where small losses hide.
Network fees, dust balances below the withdrawal minimum, and rounding on stablecoins all create tiny gaps. A clean reconciliation catches them while you still have login access to prove what was owed.
- Pre-withdrawal balance: what BitMEX listed per asset on the day you started.
- Amount sent: the figure you entered, before network fees.
- Amount received: what actually arrived in the destination wallet.
- The gap: fees plus any dust you could not withdraw.
If you track everything in one place, this becomes a two-minute check. Approaches to keeping the whole record in a single view are covered in our guide on portfolio tracker versus spreadsheet tradeoffs, which is worth reading if you are still logging trades manually.
Where should you move your crypto tracking after BitMEX?
Move both your funds and your records to an active, well-capitalized venue, and keep the tracking layer separate from any single exchange. The lesson of BitMEX is that an exchange dashboard is a rented view, not a permanent record.
Comparing your migration options
| Option | Custody | Tracking after move |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware wallet | You hold the keys | Manual entry or wallet import |
| Active exchange | Exchange holds keys | API or manual entry |
| Independent tracker | N/A (records only) | Consolidated across all venues |
The key insight is that custody and tracking are two different jobs. Where you store crypto and where you record it do not have to be the same place, and separating them protects your history when an exchange closes.
PortfolioTrackr covers 100 stock exchanges and a broad set of crypto venues, so you can consolidate a hardware-wallet stack and an active exchange into one view. If you want the funds themselves on a connected venue, note that Bybit is one of three direct integrations alongside Alpaca and Interactive Brokers, though connecting any account is entirely optional.
How do you log a closed-exchange balance in PortfolioTrackr?
Enter the withdrawn amount as a holding on your new venue and record the BitMEX-to-wallet transfer so your cost basis carries over cleanly. A transfer is not a sale, so it should not distort your gains.
You have several ways to get the data in, and none of them require a broker connection:
- Manual entry: type in the asset, quantity, and your original cost basis.
- CSV import: upload a transaction export if you kept one from BitMEX.
- Broker screenshots: snap the balance page and let the app read it.
- Voice or text: dictate the position on the go.
The critical detail is cost basis. When you move BTC from BitMEX to a hardware wallet, your acquisition price does not change. Record the original purchase price, not the transfer date's price, or your unrealized gain will read wrong. Our walkthrough on how to track stocks and crypto together in one app covers exactly how to keep both asset classes reconciled.
How do you monitor prices during a migration?
Set price alerts on the assets you are moving so a sharp move during transit does not catch you unaware. Transfers can take anywhere from minutes to hours, and crypto does not pause for your paperwork.
PortfolioTrackr checks every position and every watchlist level once a minute, around the clock. If BTC-USD crosses a level you care about mid-transfer, you hear within a minute of that level being hit.
- Position alerts track assets you already hold and are available on every plan.
- Watchlist alerts track levels on assets you are considering and are on every plan.
- Recurring alerts repeat for the same target at most once every 5 minutes.
To be clear about what alerts do: PortfolioTrackr reports status against your own levels, such as "Target 1 reached" or "stop-loss level reached". It does not tell you what to do. For a real example of alerts in action during a fast-moving altcoin, see how to track a 20% altcoin spike with price alerts.
What records should you keep for taxes after BitMEX?
Keep proof of your closing balance, every withdrawal transaction hash, and your original cost basis for each asset. A closed exchange cannot reissue documents later, so download everything while you can still log in.
Regulators and tax authorities generally treat a transfer between your own wallets as a non-taxable event, while a disposal is taxable. That distinction depends on your jurisdiction, so the documentation matters more than any assumption.
- Final balance statement from BitMEX, screenshotted per asset.
- Transaction hashes for every outbound withdrawal.
- Original acquisition records: when and at what price you first bought.
- Any settlement notice BitMEX issued when it closed your perpetual positions.
Store these outside the exchange, in cloud storage or a local folder. Once your login access ends, that data is gone for good.
The bottom line
BitMEX closing is a housekeeping task, not an emergency, as long as you act within the withdrawal window. Get your funds to a wallet you control or an active exchange, reconcile what left against what arrived, and rebuild your tracking somewhere independent of any single venue.
The broader lesson holds beyond BitMEX. An exchange dashboard shows only that exchange, and it disappears when the exchange does. Keeping your records in an independent tracker means the next shutdown, merger, or outage never touches your history. If you are weighing where to consolidate, our real-data comparison of portfolio trackers lays out the options side by side.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I still withdraw my crypto from BitMEX after it closed?
Yes. BitMEX stopped trading on September 23, 2025, but users can still log in to withdraw funds. Trading, funding, and new positions are disabled, while withdrawals remain open. Move your balance to a wallet you control or an active exchange, and record each transaction hash before support winds down.
Is transferring crypto off BitMEX a taxable event?
Generally no. Moving crypto between wallets you own is typically treated as a non-taxable transfer rather than a disposal, though rules vary by jurisdiction. Keep your original cost basis, the closing balance statement, and every withdrawal hash so your records stay clean even after login access ends.
How do I reconcile my BitMEX balance after withdrawing?
Compare what BitMEX listed per asset against what actually arrived in your destination wallet. The gap is network fees plus any dust below the withdrawal minimum. Do this while you still have login access so you can prove the pre-withdrawal balance for each asset.
How do I track crypto in PortfolioTrackr after leaving BitMEX?
Enter the withdrawn amount as a holding on your new venue using manual entry, CSV import, broker screenshots, or voice. Record the original cost basis, not the transfer-date price, so your unrealized gain reads correctly. No broker connection is required to log it.
What is a perpetual swap and does BitMEX closing affect mine?
A perpetual swap is a futures contract with no expiry, held open as long as margin and funding are maintained. When BitMEX closed, open positions were settled or closed, leaving a cash-equivalent balance. You now simply withdraw that balance rather than manage a live trade.