A U.S. District Court has ordered cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX to pay a $100 million fine for violating anti-money laundering regulations.
The penalty follows the platform’s guilty plea in 2022 for failing to adhere to the Bank Secrecy Act. This regulation mandates safeguards such as customer identity verification and anti-money laundering programs.
District Judge John Koeltl issued the ruling, marking one of the first major enforcement actions targeting the crypto sector.
Violations and Penalties
BitMEX, which pioneered cryptocurrency derivatives trading, processed over $200 million in transactions linked to unregistered money services and darknet markets. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, these activities violated compliance standards set forth by federal law. The case also concluded with BitMEX being sentenced to two years of probation.
The Justice Department originally brought charges against the exchange’s co-founders—Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed—in 2020. Gregory Dwyer, an executive at BitMEX, faced similar charges.
All four pleaded guilty and, in addition to probation, agreed to pay $10 million each in fines. The Justice Department categorized these payments as proceeds derived from unlawful activities.
BitMEX Reacts to $100M Fine
BitMEX addressed the recent financial penalty imposed by the U.S. District Court through a post on the X platform.
The company expressed disappointment over the additional financial penalty. Meanwhile, BitMEX noted that the $100 million amount was significantly lower than the figures previously sought by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
We’ve always made it a priority to stay fully transparent with our users.
In response to the sentence received by HDR Global Trading Limited (HDR) today, delivered by the U.S. Southern District Court, please see our blog announcement below.
A message to our users:… pic.twitter.com/zVyKt8lMbF
— BitMEX (@BitMEX) January 15, 2025
In the statement, BitMEX highlighted that the DOJ initially demanded over $200 million to settle a plea deal during a negotiation process that spanned three years. After the company refused, the DOJ sought approximately $420 million in sentencing proceedings.
BitMEX viewed the final penalty as a justification for its stance, emphasizing that it was substantially below the amounts originally pursued.
The post also questioned whether U.S. taxpayer resources could have been better utilized during the prolonged legal proceedings, pointing to the years-long process as excessive.
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