Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX to shut down

Cryptocurrency ​exchange BitMEX said on Thursday that it will shut down its operations, effective September 23, and added that users' ⁠assets remained safe and under their control.The owner and operator of BitMEX, HDR ‌Global Trading made the decision as part of a strategic ‌review of the business, ‌the exchange said in a ‌post on X.BitMEX ‌also urged users to close their ​positions and withdraw ‌their ​funds.Co-founders of BitMEX, ⁠Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed pleaded guilty in ​2022 ⁠for ⁠failing to implement a Bank Secrecy Act-compliant anti-money laundering program.However, ⁠U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned them last year.Prosecutors had accused BitMEX and founders Delo, Hayes and Reed of willfully ‌violating the Bank Secrecy Act between ​2015 and 2020 by failing to adopt anti-money-laundering and "know your customer" programs.