BitMEX to shut down after 11 years. CW 30 BitMEX and BitMart announced plans to cease operations. Movement Labs filed for bankruptcy after prolonged weak network activity. Meanwhile, Mirae Asset rebranded Korbit as Digital X following its acquisition, while LMAX explores strategic options, including a potential IPO or sale. BitMEX and BitMart announce exchange closures. Two cryptocurrency exchanges, BitMEX and BitMart, have announced they will cease operations. BitMEX, the pioneering derivatives exchange founded in 2014, will close on September 23, 2026, following a strategic review by its board. The exchange, known for inventing the 100x leverage perpetual swap, has stopped new account registrations immediately. From August 26, users can only reduce positions, not open new ones. All open positions will be force-closed at the closure time. BitMEX highlighted its 11-year track record of zero funds lost to hacks. Users are urged to withdraw funds before the deadline, after which account fees will apply to remaining balances. BitMart also announced an orderly cessation of operations, though specific details were not immediately available Movement Labs files for bankruptcy. The Movement blockchain has filed for bankruptcy after struggling to generate meaningful revenue since November 2025. According to DeFiLlama data, on-chain app daily revenue consistently fell below $800, while daily network fees remained in single digits, with just $1 in the past 24 hours. This poor performance came despite the project raising $141.4 million in total funding. The native token's fully diluted valuation has collapsed to $107 million, down over 99% from its peak. The stark contrast between the substantial capital raised and minimal operational revenue highlights the challenges facing the blockchain project. Mirae Asset rebrands Korbit to Digital X. South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset has completed its acquisition of 97.15% of local crypto exchange Korbit and rebranded it as Digital X. The company plans to build an investment ecosystem connecting RWA, security tokens, stablecoins, traditional assets, and digital assets. Mirae Asset emphasized its goal is not to surpass Upbit or Bithumb, but to combine global investment expertise with digital asset infrastructure to promote sustainable development in Korea's digital asset industry. Korbit currently holds less than 1% of the Korean market. Meanwhile, institutional forex and digital asset trading platform LMAX Group has hired Morgan Stanley and Stifel's KBW to evaluate strategic options, including a potential sale, SPAC merger, or IPO in the US or Europe. The company could be valued at up to $5 billion, with a Nasdaq listing being the preferred option. In 2021, J.C. Flowers acquired 30% of LMAX for $300 million, valuing the company at around $1 billion at the time. About 1token: 1Token is a digital asset investment management platform providing Crypto PMS, RMS, and Portfolio Accounting Software, managing over $20 billion in assets for more than 100 clients worldwide. All-in-one support designed for allocators, portfolio managers, treasury managers and fund operations and accountants, seeking transparency and control. * Front office (portfolio managers and traders) to view live position and exposure, calculate trading PnL and historical performance. * Middle office (ops and risk) to maintain portfolios and API accounts, book OTC trades, monitor risk metrics and analyze VaR/STV, generate shadow NAV with investor subscription/redemption/dividend. * Back office (admin and auditors) to collect and reconcile trades, generate valuation and PnL reporting under FIFO/WAC tax strategy.

LMAX weighs $5 billion IPO as Morgan Stanley and KBW advise on strategic options. * Nicholet R. * Published: July 24, 2026 * 9:16 pm * Updated: July 24, 2026 * 9:16 pm Table of Contents * LMAX is working with Morgan Stanley and KBW on strategic options including a sale, SPAC merger, or IPO, with Nasdaq reportedly preferred. * The company could seek a valuation of up to $5 billion, compared with roughly $1 billion when J.C. Flowers bought 30% in 2021. * Ripple invested $150 million in January, while LMAX expanded through a 24-hour multi-asset exchange covering currencies, crypto, commodities, and tokenized securities for institutional market participants. LMAX Group is working with Morgan Stanley and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to evaluate strategic options that could value the institutional trading company at up to $5 billion. The possibilities include a sale, a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or an initial public offering in the United States or Europe, with Nasdaq reportedly emerging as the preferred route. LMAX is exploring a transformational transaction without committing to a single outcome. Curiously, management is said to be in no hurry today, as weak crypto markets pressure the sector while foreign exchange operations provide some protection. LMAX Group is reportedly working with Morgan Stanley and KBW to assess strategic options, including a sale or IPO. Just a rumor for now - no deal announced, and crypto markets remain weak. pic.twitter.com/tTsUWmF6OM - lenny | (@blockchainlenny) July 24, 2026 Diversification complicates the strategic decision. The London-based company operates institutional venues for foreign exchange and digital assets, supplying execution, liquidity, and market infrastructure to banks, brokers, hedge funds, and asset managers. In February, it expanded that model by launching a 24-hour multi-asset exchange covering currencies, digital assets, commodities, and tokenized securities. LMAX is positioning itself as broader financial infrastructure rather than a narrowly defined crypto platform. That diversification matters now because it gives potential buyers or public-market investors exposure to several trading categories and revenue channels for investors, even as volatility and muted sentiment complicate valuations across the digital-asset industry. The strategic review follows Ripple's $150 million investment in January, which was intended to support adoption of the RLUSD stablecoin across LMAX trading and settlement infrastructure. A $5 billion valuation would be especially striking compared with 2021, when J.C. Flowers purchased a 30% stake for $300 million, valuing the business at approximately $1 billion. The proposed valuation would represent a fivefold increase in about five years. That gap raises an obvious question: can recent product expansion and institutional positioning justify such a premium while crypto markets remain weak and transaction timing remains deliberately flexible now? LMAX's deliberations arrive as crypto exchanges and financial-infrastructure providers pursue transactions designed to expand institutional trading, custody, settlement, tokenization, and stablecoin services. The company has not selected a final route, and no immediate deal appears necessary, leaving advisers to compare markets, counterparties, and listing structures. The real decision is whether LMAX should sell scale privately or test public investors' appetite for digital-finance infrastructure. Its foreign exchange business may soften sector weakness, but a Nasdaq listing, European offering, SPAC merger, or outright sale would each expose the company to different expectations, scrutiny, and execution risks ahead.

LMAX launches Kiosk, turning client crypto into margin for FX and CFD trading. Tuesday, 12/05/2026 | 01:19 GMT-7 by Damian Chmiel * The new hosted portal channels client digital assets into LMAX Custody and lets them sit as margin against FX, metals, CFDs and perpetual futures. * The product arrives as JPMorgan, StoneX Digital and Ripple Prime race to build the same crypto-collateral plumbing for institutional clients. LMAX Group on Tuesday launched Kiosk, a hosted interface that lets institutional clients accept digital assets from their customers, hold them in LMAX Custody and then post those balances as margin across the group's wider trading venues. The product sits on top of LMAX Group's existing regulated infrastructure and is delivered as a single, customized portal. According to the firm, clients can deposit crypto into LMAX Custody and immediately use those balances as collateral to trade spot FX, precious metals, digital assets, CFDs and perpetual futures. The interface bundles deposits, withdrawals, API credential management, WalletConnect support, security controls and treasury management in one workflow, the company said. LMAX has been previewing the offering for months. In a March 2026 thought-leadership piece, Managing Director for Digital Assets Jenna Wright described the firm as "currently onboarding institutional brokers to a new, fully hosted, broker-branded interface" with cross-asset collateral functionality. Tuesday's announcement formalizes that pipeline as a named product. David Mercer, LMAX Group's chief executive, framed the launch around collateral mobility rather than product features, saying "hyper-efficient collateral will be the foundation of modern, converged capital markets." Kiosk, he said, brings "that fluidity and speed of collateral transition to clients today." Crypto collateral race picks up across the stack. LMAX is entering a corner of the market that has become crowded over the past 12 months, as institutions at every level of the financial stack try to monetize demand for using digital assets as working capital rather than letting them sit idle in custody. JPMorgan said in October 2025 that it planned to accept Bitcoin and Ether as loan collateral for institutional clients globally, using a third-party custodian. StoneX Digital, the institutional crypto arm of the Forex.com parent, launched a Bitcoin-backed lending platform for institutional traders in February 2026. Ripple Prime, the rebranded Hidden Road, has built out cross-margining across digital assets, FX, fixed income and cleared derivatives, with its RLUSD stablecoin increasingly used as the collateral asset of choice. B2PRIME extended its B2TRADER platform in March 2026 with crypto spot and perpetual futures alongside FX and CFDs, supporting cross-collateral margin across a basket of digital assets and stablecoins. Singapore Exchange went live with Marex-cleared Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures in late 2025, targeting accredited and institutional investors with a centrally cleared, onshore alternative to offshore venues. LMAX's pitch differs in one specific way. Where StoneX, JPMorgan and Ripple Prime operate primarily as direct counterparties to end clients, Kiosk is designed to slot inside a broker's own front end and present LMAX Custody as the back office. Kiosk is designed to sit upstream of both, turning client crypto deposits into the funding source for those trades. Damian Chmiel is a Senior Analyst & Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 15 years of experience in the CFD and online trading industry. Active as both a trader and journalist since 2010, he focuses on broker coverage, fintech innovation, and regulatory developments across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His work includes interviews with C-level leaders at major brokerages and fintech platforms, as well as co-authoring Finance Magnates' quarterly industry benchmarking reports. Damian's reporting is data-driven, market-aware, and grounded in direct industry engagement. His analysis and commentary have also been cited by external media outlets, including Investing.com, Binance, The Asset, Stockhead, and Dispatch. Education: MA in Finance and Accounting, Cracow University of Economics * 3546 Articles * 110 Followers