TechFlow news — According to data disclosed by Chainalysis chief economist Philip Gradwell, within less than 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against HDR Global Trading Limited, the operator of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, 32,000 bitcoins were withdrawn from BitMEX, worth approximately $335 million at current prices.
According to Gradwell, the large volume of withdrawals in a short period significantly increased Bitcoin market liquidity by about 25%. Some of the withdrawn bitcoins have already been transferred to Gemini and other major crypto exchanges, while others were sent to private wallets. He expects further outflows from BitMEX in the coming days. However, blockchain analytics firm CoinMetrics reported slightly different figures, stating that over 37,000 bitcoins—worth around $387 million—have been withdrawn from BitMEX. Industry insiders note that discrepancies between numbers derived from Chainalysis and CoinMetrics are common due to differing data sources. At the time of writing, BitMEX still holds between 135,000 and 170,000 bitcoins, suggesting many customers remain confident and have not rushed to withdraw funds amid regulatory actions—at least for now.
According to The Block Research, the exchange’s open interest (OI)—the total value of unsettled, outstanding derivative contracts—has not declined significantly. Currently, open interest in BitMEX's Bitcoin perpetual contracts has dropped only 16%, amounting to a reduction of approximately $119 million, with total open interest holding at $627 million. On the other hand, open interest in BitMEX's Ethereum perpetual contracts has fallen by 37%, a decline of about $60 million, leaving total open interest at $103 million.
