{"id":29515,"date":"2020-10-02T11:25:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T08:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=29515"},"modified":"2025-08-27T17:27:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T14:27:06","slug":"open-interest-on-bitmex-falls-amid-regulatory-troubles-with-u-s-authorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/open-interest-on-bitmex-falls-amid-regulatory-troubles-with-u-s-authorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Interest on BitMEX Falls Amid Regulatory Troubles With U.S. Authorities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Open interest (OI) on the BitMEX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange fell below its year-to-date low amid problems with U.S. regulators.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>According to Arcane Research analysts, in just a few hours the OI on BitMEX dropped to 61,869 BTC. A similar reading was observed in April this year.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The open interest (BTC) on BitMEX\u2019s bitcoin derivatives just hit a yearly low of 61,869 BTC following the announcement of the CFTC charge on the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>The former yearly low was painted on the 30th of April when the open interest bottomed at 61,975 BTC. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f5dENV3CQZ\">pic.twitter.com\/f5dENV3CQZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArcaneResearch\/status\/1311798602830938120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On October 1, it was revealed that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against the BitMEX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange and its owners, including co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes. They are accused of operating an unregistered trading platform and violating the Commission&#8217;s rules, including anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) measures.<\/p>\n<p>Soon after this information, the OI on the XBTUSD perpetual swap fell by 11%.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The dramatic impact of the CFTC announcement becomes clear when zooming in on the hourly open interest data from the XBTUSD perp.<\/p>\n<p>The last hours has seen the OI of the XBTUSD perp (measured in BTC) fall by 11%.<\/p>\n<p>Traders are definitely closing their positions on BitMEX. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PeLGIl82JV\">pic.twitter.com\/PeLGIl82JV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArcaneResearch\/status\/1311798606333128711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cTraders are definitely closing their positions on BitMEX,\u201d Arcane Research experts noted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The open interest on BitMEX continued to fall. To date, the depth of the decline has exceeded 16%.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Update:<\/p>\n<p>The open interest on the BitMEX Bitcoin perp has fell further throughout the night, and reached 45,112 BTC at 07:00 (GMT+2).<\/p>\n<p>The open interest (measured in BTC) is currently down 16% since the CFTC announcement. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GTnI291Enu\">pic.twitter.com\/GTnI291Enu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArcaneResearch\/status\/1311899819502428160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The number of bitcoins held at BitMEX addresses has been steadily decreasing since the March market crash.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_111972\" style=\"width: 1528px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-111972\" class=\"size-full wp-image-111972\" src=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Balance-1.png\" alt=\"Open interest on BitMEX falls amid regulatory troubles with U.S. authorities\" width=\"1518\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Balance-1.png 1518w, https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Balance-1-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Balance-1-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Balance-1-768x284.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1518px) 100vw, 1518px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-111972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Data: <a href=\"https:\/\/studio.glassnode.com\/metrics?a=BTC&#038;c=native&#038;m=distribution.BalanceExchangesAll&#038;mAvg=7&#038;resolution=1h&#038;s=1546552646&#038;u=1601596800&#038;zoom=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glassnode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/telegram.org\/js\/telegram-widget.js?11\" data-telegram-post=\"forklog\/15283\" data-width=\"100%\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to Chainalysis\u2019s chief economist Philip Gradwell, two-thirds of this amount went to exchanges, with the remainder to unhosted wallets. He also notes that last week total inflows to crypto platforms amounted to 65,000 BTC.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">24,577 bitcoin has now been withdrawn from BitMEX, 65% to exchanges with the remainder to unhosted wallets. Total inflows to exchanges averaged 65k bitcoin this last week, so BitMEX withdrawals are adding 25% more liquidity already and more will come with the 08:00 UTC withdrawal<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Philip Gradwell (@philip_gradwell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/philip_gradwell\/status\/1311935151975399429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Spurred or not, Gradwell later reported a further withdrawal of 7,425 BTC from BitMEX, a third of which went to the Gemini bitcoin exchange.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">And another 7,425 bitcoin withdrawn from BitMEX, one third to Gemini.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not turning into a full time BitMEX withdraw tweetbot but I\u2019m assuming this is the 08:00 UTC announced withdrawal, although more may come in subsequent blocks<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Philip Gradwell (@philip_gradwell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/philip_gradwell\/status\/1311943945908367360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to The Block analyst Larry Cermak, BitMEX still held more than 182,000 BTC on its wallets until recently. He added that most customers had not taken any active action. Cermak reached this conclusion amid what he viewed as a modest decline in open interest.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BitMEX now holds about 182.6k BTC. About 24.6k has been withdrawn since the announcement yesterday. A lot of customers still staying there and OI hasn\u2019t declined that much. BTC perp lost $110M (14% decline) of OI and ETH by $60M (33% decline). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fKEfuHacUG\">https:\/\/t.co\/fKEfuHacUG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lawmaster\/status\/1311946784139284480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Cermak noted that BitMEX began processing withdrawals at an unusual time \u2014 18 hours before the standard withdrawal window. Users speculated that the exchange\u2019s management was enabling withdrawals before its seizure.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Letting people out before it\u2019s all seized and tied up in legal proceedings for years. That\u2019s actually nice of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 RydesaurusRex (@RydesaurusRex) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RydesaurusRex\/status\/1311728055203885056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Analyst Alex Kr\u00fcger believes that, in the long run, BitMEX\u2019s troubles will positively affect American exchanges and over-the-counter trading.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Bitmex news are short term bearish, long term bullish.<\/p>\n<p>Assume the CFTC &#038; DOJ bring Bitmex down. The absence of Bitmex may then result in US exchanges and OTC desks becoming markets of \u00absignificant size\u00bb, sharply increasing the odds of the SEC approving an ETF.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kr\u00fcger (@krugermacro) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/krugermacro\/status\/1311723540702474244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cNews about BitMEX is bearish in the short term, but bullish in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Kr\u00fcger does not rule out that this could hasten SEC approval of Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs).<\/p>\n<p>Recall, in May The Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC filed a lawsuit against BitMEX, accusing the exchange of conducting unlawful activity in the United States, manipulating the cryptocurrency market, fraud, unfair business practices, money laundering, and the illegal handling of raised funds.<\/p>\n<p>In August BitMEX <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/bitmex-tightens-user-verification\">introduced<\/a> new verification rules, under which users must confirm their residential address and provide identification documents.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to ForkLog news on Telegram: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/forkloglive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">ForkLog FEED<\/a> \u2014 the full feed of news, <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/forklog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">ForkLog<\/a> \u2014 the most important news and polls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Open interest on BitMEX&#8217;s crypto derivatives exchange fell below its year-to-date low amid problems with U.S. regulators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[788,1166,879,1168],"class_list":["post-29515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitmex","tag-centralized-exchanges-cex","tag-cftc","tag-crypto-derivatives"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"16","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29517,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29515\/revisions\/29517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}