BitMEX Countdown: Contracts Expiring After Shutdown Raise Concerns for Holders
On August 22, 2026, just four days before BitMEX announced it would block new positions and eventually shut down trading altogether, there were still 108,146 bitcoin in open value sitting on the exchange.
When the exchange was called at around 06:57 UTC to gather data from its public interface, the results showed that out of 39 active instruments, four futures contracts had expiry dates after September 23, 2026, when BitMEX would officially shut down.
The most striking finding was that XBTZ26 and XBTH27, which expire in December 2026 and March 2027 respectively, still had open value of 12.0 bitcoin and 5.4 bitcoin. This is significant because the exchange's announcement stated that positions still open at the closing date would be force-closed immediately.
In other words, holders of these contracts are facing a situation where their hedging strategy may not serve its purpose, as the contract expires before the end date it was intended to cover.