BMEX Plummets 92% After BitMEX Shutdown with No Additional Compensation
After BitMEX announced its closure on September 23, the platform token BMEX plummeted 92%, currently priced at $0.005, with a market cap of only about $480,000.
The official response was to immediately release all staked BMEX and return it to accounts, with no additional compensation or special arrangements, reiterating that it is a purely utility token, does not constitute an investment, and has no refund or redemption obligations.
The shutdown event triggered sell-offs, with funds flowing out of positions, putting pressure on remaining holders, and the platform's utility function reduced to zero.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
As a pioneer of perpetual contracts founded in 2014, BitMEX launched BMEX in 2021-2022 primarily for fee discounts and staking rewards, with a significant portion previously locked and never released, resulting in a complete loss of utility after the shutdown.
The capital pathway reflects a strong binding between exchange tokens and platform survival, with the motivation being to cut any redemption obligations through disclaimers, similar to the rapid zeroing out of other CEX tokens during business contractions.
In comparison to the handling of tokens from bankrupt entities like FTX and Voyager, and the rise of decentralized perpetuals like Hyperliquid, BMEX is at the end stage of the lifecycle of centralized exchange tokens.
Essentially, this represents a transfer of pricing power, with the mechanism being that the platform's closure cuts off all demand scenarios, leading to price discovery dominated by remaining sell pressure in a low liquidity environment.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Utility tokens return to zero with the platform's demise
Disclaimers serve as the final legal shield
Unstaking often marks the beginning of sell-offs