BitMEX Pleads Guilty to US Bank Secrecy Act Violation

US Department of Justice officials have announced that cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

It was found that the exchange operated without a proper Anti-Money Laundering program from 2015 to 2020, making it vulnerable to money laundering and sanctions evasion schemes.

The guilty plea indicates the importance of cryptocurrency companies complying with US laws, especially if they are operating in the US market.

The exchange’s founders, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, were aware that their lax AML measures violated federal law, as testified in criminal proceedings against them in 2022.

Instead of implementing a proper AML program with Know Your Customer standards, BitMEX only required users to provide an email address, which is not enough to meet AML requirements.