By Akanksha Khushi and Elizabeth HowcroftJuly 23 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, whose founders were pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump last year, said on Thursday it ‌will shut down its operations in September and urged customers to withdraw their ‌assets. BitMEX called on users to close their open positions and withdraw their funds before the closure on September 23. "The cryptocurrency exchange market is highly competitive, and the ⁠closure of BitMEX may suggest that major exchanges will continue to gain significant weight at the expense of smaller or newer exchanges," said Thomas Probst, a research analyst at Kaiko. Trump pardoned them last year. Founded in ​2014, BitMEX has more than ‌2 million traders on its platform, according to its website.