$524 million Bitcoin withdrawn from BitMEX in July

Net outflows show that more than half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin left BitMEX in July, making the month the single-biggest for total customer withdrawals on record.

With a net outflow of $524 million in BTC, July was the first month the exchange had parted ways with more than $100 million in customer deposits.

Outflows charted in terms of Bitcoin reveal a markedly similar trend, with more than 50,000 BTC leaving the Seychelles-registered derivatives exchange in July.Denominating in $BTC shows the same story.

The revelation comes on the heels of what just might be BitMEX's most turbulent month to date, stirred up by the discovery that the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission quietly started an investigation into whether the non-US-registered platform has been illicitly allowing American residents to trade.

News of the CTFC probe broke July 19, just days after a damning op-ed by Nouriel Roubini accusing BitMEX of "Systematic illegal activity" including money-laundering and dodging KYC/AML regulations, seemingly spurred on by its author's earlier, fiery debate with BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes.

Several members of the cryptosphere have stepped in to blame Hayes for BitMEX's poor performance in July, suggesting it was a mistake to engage such a dangerous adversary as Roubini in a high-profile debate.

BitMEX customers certainly appear to have been spooked by the announcement of the probe, with July 19 seeing a net outflow of 8200 BTC leave BitMEX, the second-largest day of the month for outflows.

Questions of regulatory scrutiny aside BitMEX could simply be losing custom to its newfound competitor, Binance, which as reported by CryptoSlate announced plans to enter the leveraged derivatives space within months.

First thought was traders entering alts, but beta margin trading opened in June, and the large spike in July is right before they opened it to everyone.

With Binance expected to soon launch a fully regulated arm in the U.S., the exchange may be a safer bet in the eyes of Bitcoin derivatives traders.