EddieJayonCrypto
30 Mar 25
President Donald Trump has reportedly pardoned the three co-founders of the crypto exchange BiTMEX, including Arthur Hayes, after they pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. They were accused of operating BiTMEX as a "money laundering platform" and failing to implement typical Know Your C...
President Donald Trump has pardoned the three co-founders of the crypto exchange BitMEX, including Arthur Hayes, after they pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. They were accused of operating BitMEX as a "money laundering platform" and failing to implement typical Know Your Customer (KYC) verification standards. The co-founders received probation sentences and were fined tens of millions of dollars. BitMEX itself also pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams emphasized the need for cryptocurrency companies to comply with US law.
Trump pardoned Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed on Thursday, nearly three years after they pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by willfully failing to establish adequate anti-money laundering protocols. Prosecutors accused the trio of operating BitMEX as if it were a “money laundering platform,” as instead of implementing typical Know Your Customer (KYC) verification standards.
The co-founders received sentences of probation and were forced to pay tens of millions of dollars worth of fines. BitMEX itself – which was founded about a decade earlier – also pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. U.S. Attorney Damien Williams stated that BitMEX's actions posed a serious threat to the integrity of the financial system, emphasizing the need for cryptocurrency companies to comply with US law.