Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026
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Compare market positioning with top industry peers
Explore BitMEX
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 2014 in Mahé, Victoria, Seychelles
In May 2013, Arthur Hayes, a Wharton graduate working as a top equity derivatives market maker for Citigroup in Hong Kong, was unexpectedly laid off during a corporate restructuring. Rather than returning to Wall Street, Hayes immersed himself in Bitcoin, realizing that cryptocurrency possessed the same extreme volatility that made derivatives trading so lucrative in traditional finance. Hayes began trading Bitcoin arbitrage between exchanges in Hong Kong and mainland China, but he was exasperated by the amateurish state of existing trading platforms: they suffered from terrible matching engines, lacked basic risk controls, and offered only primitive spot trading. Hayes envisioned a true mercantile exchange dedicated to complex financial derivatives. In late 2013, Hayes connected with Ben Delo, an Oxford University mathematics and computer science graduate who had spent years writing high-frequency algorithmic trading software for GSA Capital in London, and Samuel Reed, a veteran web architect specializing in low-latency distributed databases. Incorporating HDR Global Trading in 2014, the trio spent two grueling years living in tiny Hong Kong apartments on personal credit card debt. Early volumes were virtually zero; traditional crypto investors didn't understand futures contracts. Everything changed in May 2016 when Delo and Hayes invented the perpetual swap contract (XBTUSD) and introduced 100x leverage. The product caught on like wildfire among quantitative trading desks and algorithmic arbitrageurs worldwide. By the 2017 bull market, BitMEX was handling over $5 billion in daily volume, filling the 45th floor of the Cheung Kong Center—the most expensive office skyscraper in Hong Kong—and solidifying its status as the supreme engine of digital asset volatility.
Since its establishment in 2014, BitMEX expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Cryptocurrency Derivatives, Perpetual Swaps, High-Frequency Trading Infrastructure & Digital Asset Exchange, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, BitMEX executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, BitMEX maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.