| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 2020 |
| Country | Seychelles |
| Sector | Crypto |
| Collapse type | Regulatory Kill |
| Founder | Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed |
BitMEX (Partial Collapse)
"BitMEX's AML failures led to DOJ charges against all founders, triggering a $1.5B bank run in 24 hours."
Forced closure by regulatory action
Key Events Timeline
BitMEX, once the dominant Bitcoin derivatives exchange, collapsed as a going concern in October 2020 when the US DOJ and CFTC charged founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and Gregory Dwyer with violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement AML/KYC.
// full analysis
Full analysis requires the Analyst plan
Documented cause · Market cycle · Competitive moat type · Verified lesson
€149/mo · or contribute your autopsy for free access →
UnicornBurn Season 0 opens July 2026. 10,000 founders competing in one world. Your startup fights for the market every Saturday. Most will end up here. Which one are you?
JOIN SEASON 0 →BitMEX (Partial Collapse) followed a documented pattern. Identify the same signals in any company before they reach the point of no return.
Witnessed a startup failure first-hand? Share the real story. First-hand accounts from founders and team members get prioritized for publication.
SUBMIT AN AUTOPSY →Failure intelligence for due diligence and risk analysis.
Structured dataset by collapse type, for 5031 startups. 7-day trial.
See plans →Free JSON API. No key required. 50 autopsies, 10 req/day.
Full dataset available with Intelligence plan API key. CORS enabled.
Explore API →Academic, press, or research use? Free JSON API available — no auth required →