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BitMEX is facing a proposed class action filed July 23 in the Southern District of New York. The suit wants 622.66 Bitcoin back — not dollars, actual Bitcoin.
The two principal plaintiffs are BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar. BKX Services claims it lost 305.809 BTC. Namdar says he lost 316.856 BTC. Both trace their losses to BitMEX’s liquidation practices between 2018 and 2020, a period when the exchange was one of the most heavily trafficked derivatives platforms in the crypto space. The suit names HDR Global Trading Limited and four affiliated entities — ABS Global Trading Limited, 100x Holdings Limited, Shine Effort Inc Limited, and HDR Global Services (Bermuda) Limited — as defendants. Co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer are also named personally.
That’s a wide net.
What the Plaintiffs Actually Allege
The core accusation is pretty straightforward, at least on paper. The plaintiffs say BitMEX’s liquidation engine closed out traders’ positions prematurely — specifically when losses got close to half of the posted collateral, not when they actually hit zero. The surplus left over after those forced closures didn’t go back to traders. It went into BitMEX’s Insurance Fund instead. That’s the heart of the replevin claim: the Bitcoin wasn’t BitMEX’s to keep.
But it gets messier. The complaint also alleges that BitMEX ran an internal trading desk with access to customer positions and liquidation points. That desk allegedly used anonymized accounts to keep trading during server outages — the same outages that locked regular users out and, the plaintiffs argue, created the exact market conditions that triggered forced liquidations in the first place. So BitMEX’s own desk was, in theory, trading against customers who couldn’t even log in.
Unclear how much of that the plaintiffs can prove. But the allegation is specific enough to matter.
The suit pushes claims of replevin and fraud rather than the Commodity Exchange Act violations that formed the basis of a 2020 class action against BitMEX. That earlier case was dismissed without prejudice in June 2025. The plaintiffs here argue that the prior litigation effectively paused the statute of limitations, which is why they can bring these claims now. Whether that tolling argument holds up in court is probably the first real legal hurdle.
BitMEX CEO Pushes Back, Shutdown Looms
BitMEX CEO Peter Wilkinson didn’t mince words. He called the allegations “spurious and opportunistic” and said the company intends to defend itself vigorously. No other details from the company’s side, at least not yet.
The timing is awkward for BitMEX regardless of the merits. The Financial Services Authority of Seychelles confirmed that HDR had voluntarily withdrawn its virtual-asset license application. That withdrawal fits into a broader, regulator-approved wind-down plan. Under that plan, BitMEX must cease trading and settle client-held assets by September 23. Reduce-only trading kicks in August 26, which basically means users can close positions but can’t open new ones. Anyone who hasn’t acted by September 23 could face forced closures.
BitMEX says its assets exceed its liabilities. It’s also promised that after closure, users can still log in, view balances, and withdraw funds. That’s a more orderly exit than what the industry saw with FTX — no sudden freeze, no missing funds, no overnight collapse. The wind-down has a schedule and a regulator watching it.
And yet.
The shutdown notice is completely silent on the Bitcoin tied to historical liquidations. There’s no mention of what happens to the 622.66 BTC the plaintiffs are claiming. No clarification on whether disputed collateral from 2018–2020 falls inside or outside the settlement process. That gap is exactly what’s driving the urgency here — if BitMEX closes and distributes remaining assets without addressing these claims, recovery gets a lot harder.
The plaintiffs want the actual Bitcoin returned, not a dollar conversion. That distinction matters. Bitcoin’s price has moved dramatically since 2018, so a dollar-equivalent payout would almost certainly be worth far less than the coins themselves. It’s a smart framing by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and it probably shapes how any potential settlement gets structured.
The lawsuit doesn’t specify a total dollar value for the 622.66 BTC claim, which is kind of notable given how much coverage that number would get right now.
Reduce-only trading begins August 26.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the named defendants in the BitMEX class action?
The defendants include HDR Global Trading Limited, four affiliated entities, and BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer.
What happens to BitMEX user funds after the September 23 closure?
BitMEX says users will still be able to view balances and withdraw funds after the September 23 shutdown, and the company maintains its assets exceed its liabilities.
