In order to improve our use of Bitcoin block space, we will reissue all customer Bitcoin deposit addresses. Over time, this will allow us to reduce withdrawal fees for our users.
All new addresses will be pay-to-witness publish key hash (P2WPKH) Bech32 format addresses (also known as “bc1 addresses”), without our historical “vanity” address prefix (3BMEX, bc1qmex).
BitMEX’s historic deposit addresses used Bitcoin’s native onchain 3 of 4 multisignature system (P2WSH). This meant that each spend from a deposit address required a large transaction with three signatures published to the blockchain. Even with the SegWit witness discount applied since our last refresh, this used up a large amount of block space.
The new wallet addresses require a single on-chain signature (p2wpkh) for each movement of funds, which will result in significant block weight savings. This single signature is the product of a multi-party computation (MPC-CMP) which uses several highly-secure and geographically distributed private keys. This signature scheme is already being used for our hot withdrawals processing – meaning, the update will not bring a big change to our high-level wallet security.
Timeline of Upcoming Changes
- New user accounts will receive P2WPKH addresses from 1st November 2023.
- Replacement of existing deposit addresses will be done in batches between 1 November 2023 – 30 November 2023.
- Users can use the new address as soon as it is shown on the deposit page,
- From 1 January 2024 onwards, we will no longer credit funds sent to the old addresses in real-time – they will be credited periodically.
User Action Required
Once you receive the new BitMEX Bitcoin wallet addresses in November, please make sure that you:
- Stop sending Bitcoin deposits to your existing BitMEX wallet address and send to your new one instead.
- Update your BitMEX wallet address stored in any address book on other services, bots or exchanges.
- Whitelist the new BitMEX wallet address in any internal systems or other crypto services .
Transparency
BitMEX has always been dedicated to being transparent about wallet security. We provide deposit addresses with the full script required to re-produce the address from constituent parts – including the well-known BitMEX public keys. With this upgrade, we are switching Bitcoin deposit addresses to Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) BIP-44 deposit-based addresses, with a unique derivation path for each user. All are delivered from the common public key for each environment, as published below. We have used the same derivation scheme and public key for other networks (Eth, Tron, Solana) since we launched support for these networks.
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Deposit Addresses |
Cold Storage |
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Production |
xpub661MyMwAqRbcFvqQ14RrhJ5seDNrUeJGcaKYxmXwCfQKrCzUv8ScZDjaHoKvdjHuneaDQGGFbrozqw7JVoqHfBSs5i4igzf8zfUPxySeL6N |
xpub661MyMwAqRbcFvRU4KY8CSaC2dNqt56EKx4XPmXLVfz4hYE1WtMv8wr6tB2G89UBNXUPaEYy5eWbYgftS9oGDrjrBvanJ2UGe2W5hMwGHPg |
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Testnet |
tpubD6NzVbkrYhZ4YBvt6p9372Db5iEYcWaxwjq2QkAj1Pt4BugVWsuXPJwLT94uVPqR5zNN5rEj7Q6gVbGNN6tGa6okh1NzrdufcYdiCy2LZPn |
tpubD6NzVbkrYhZ4Y6fD6vPaHVRFXZbeENMc1RStSquKU6RJcLpcFm9xxHqzWNYvgUHBdKts7x8tcDSjNnYoXD7JsEBVTZR8xkq2ALA6ma3Thbx |
Proof of Reserves at BitMEX
Our Proof of Reserves process will continue with the upgraded wallet system. Any addresses with a balance will be automatically included in our Proof-of-Reserves dataset, available at https://bitmex.com/app/porl, with our validation tool also updated to trust such addresses. As a result of this upgrade, we will be transferring funds from the old wallet system to new cold wallets, which will also be reflected in the Proof of Reserves.
Questions You Might Have About These Changes
Do I have to transfer my funds from the current address to the new address?
Why Am I Seeing Large Bitcoin Withdrawals from BitMEX Wallets?
After our deposit address refresh, we will be transferring funds encumbered with the legacy keys to new cold wallets on-chain. The on-chain transactions between our old and new wallet addresses will not change the total balance across our Proof of Reserves dataset except for transaction fees. However, please note that not all third party websites or social bots that display exchange movements or reserves follow this accurately, therefore, transient discrepancies may be shown.
Will BitMEX Allow More Frequent Withdrawals After the Wallet Upgrade?
BitMEX sends around 95% of customer bitcoin withdrawals automatically within a few minutes, with the remainder subject to additional checks or manual review. It will no longer be the case that all manually reviewed withdrawals are held until 13:00 UTC the following day.
Will My Trading Activity be Affected?
No. All trading will remain as usual and will not be interrupted by the change of our wallet system. There may be rare occasions of delays in the processing of deposits or withdrawals, where their execution may take longer than normal.
How Can I Tell When My Deposit Address Changes?
When the deposit address shown on the deposit page (and encoded by the QR code) no longer starts with 3BMEX or bc1qmex, the change is complete for your account.
How Can I verify My Address from the Script?
The derivation path from the User depositAddress API can be passed to Bitcoin Core’s getdescriptorinfo and deriveaddresses RPC methods to verify the address computation. Other web-based BIP44 derivation tools can also be used.
What About Addresses That I Have Whitelisted?
Any BitMEX account addresses that you have whitelisted on the BitMEX platform will be updated on your behalf, and we will send a notification to confirm the addition of the new address.
Whitelisted BitMEX Bitcoin deposit addresses on other platforms or venues will have to be updated by the user themselves once the new address has been issued.
What Happens if I send Bitcoin to An Old BitMEX Bitcoin Wallet Address?
We will continue to credit any deposits made to the old Bitcoin deposit addresses as per the current standard until 31 October 2023. Starting 1 January 2024 we will no longer credit funds sent to the old addresses upon confirmation and will only credit your account periodically.
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In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Support who are available 24/7.