BitMEX spent two years exploring a sale with prospective buyers including rival exchanges and payments platform Exodus before abandoning the effort and moving toward a shutdown, with exchange operations set to end at 4:00 a.m. UTC on Sept. 23. Buyers were reportedly deterred by efforts to preserve the founders' control, the company's negative image and slowing growth, while Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed still controlled a significant equity stake after stepping back following U.S. criminal charges in 2020. The exchange was said to be targeting a valuation of roughly $1 billion, though it remains unclear whether any formal bids were submitted. BitMEX, which helped popularize perpetual futures, had also been losing market share to larger centralized exchanges and decentralized perpetual futures platforms. It said on July 24 that parent HDR Global Trading would wind down operations after a strategic review, with new registrations halted immediately.