Bitcoin Slumps Below $64,000 Amid BitMEX Shutdown and FOMC Uncertainty

Bitcoin's price has fallen below $64,000 as uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy meeting and BitMEX's shutdown weigh on sentiment. The BitMEX wind-down announcement comes after its offshore Bitcoin derivatives market share collapsed from 40% to just 0.6%, marking a significant decline in influence.

The research firm K33 noted that BitMEX's decision to shut down marks the end of an important chapter for the crypto derivatives market, which it helped popularize and establish contract standards for.

However, its influence has dwindled sharply in recent years. K33 pointed out that BitMEX's Bitcoin open interest once represented 40% of offshore BTC derivatives OI, but its share fell to just 0.6% by the first half of 2026.

The FOMC uncertainty creates a cautious backdrop for Bitcoin, with markets pricing a 66.3% probability of unchanged rates and a 33.7% chance of a 25-basis-point hike. Inflation data has produced conflicting signals, but K33 expects the impact on Bitcoin to be limited compared to previous periods of heightened policy uncertainty.