Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, along with the cryptocurrency exchange’s co-founders and a senior employee, has received pardons from U.S. President Donald Trump, a White House official confirmed on Friday.
In addition to Hayes, Trump pardoned Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Greg Dwyer. A spokesperson for BitMEX confirmed that the operating entity, HDR Global Trading, was also granted a pardon. The pardons were signed by the president on Thursday, according to CNBC.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Hayes, Reed, Delo, and Dwyer in 2020 with violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Prosecutors accused them of running BitMEX as a platform that allowed customers to trade anonymously without adhering to basic know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. All four individuals pled guilty and received probationary sentences. BitMEX itself also pleaded guilty to the BSA violations in 2024.
Hayes was sentenced to two years of probation, while Delo received 30 months, Reed 18 months, and Dwyer 12 months. In response to the pardon, Delo called the charges “wrongful,” claiming that they were politically motivated and that BitMEX was unfairly used as a regulatory example. He expressed gratitude to President Trump for the full pardon.
Hayes posted a simple “thank you” on X (formerly Twitter) in acknowledgment of the pardon.
BitMEX also faced a separate $100 million fine from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2021 for violating the Commodity Exchange Act.
These pardons follow President Trump’s recent actions, including pardoning former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton, convicted of fraud in 2022. Trump also granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road, earlier this year.
Amid these actions, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO convicted of fraud, has expressed hopes for a pardon but has yet to secure one. Meanwhile, Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, who served four months in prison for a similar charge as Hayes, has denied reports of seeking a pardon but acknowledged the unusual nature of his case.
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