The court in New York, United States (US), has imposed a total of $30 million in civil fines on the 3 co-founders of BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange.
$10 million fine per co-founder
The co-founders, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed were reportedly fined $10 million each. This is shown by a statement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It became clear from this that the BitMEX co-founders had violated aspects of the Commodity Eschange Act and CFTC regulations between November 2014 and October 2020.
On October 1, 2020, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against the exchange. The defendants were charged with “operating the BitMEX platform while taking important aspects of BitMEX’s business out of the US and illegally accepting orders and funds from US customers to trade cryptocurrencies”, including derivatives of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum ( ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).
Carrying out illegal acts
According to the CFTC, BitMEX has engaged in illegal acts, including providing the facility to trade or process swaps without the official approval of the CFTC to operate as a designated contract market or swap execution facility. Commissioner of the CFTC, Carline D. Pham, said in a statement:
“By enforcing individual responsibility for registration, market conduct and anti-money laundering rules – fundamental aspects of the U.S. regulatory framework – the CFTC is ensuring that BitMEX management is held accountable after last year’s $100 million settlement with corporate suspects.”