The cryptocurrency exchange says a ban of users in Hong Kong, Bermuda and the Seychelles is to avoid conflict of interest with its operating company.
Today, 100x Group, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, announced its third grant to Bitcoin Core maintainer Michael Ford, aka Fanquake. This latest donation is for $100,000, bringing 100x Group’s total support of Ford to $250,000 over three years.
The grant was made in conjunction with an additional $18,500 being given to Ford by Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve.
“100x Group is pleased to provide long-term financial support for open-source developers like Michael, who build the infrastructure on which our business and many others depend,” said Alexander Höptner, CEO of 100x Group, per the announcement. “The grant is provided without conditions to ensure Michael is free to work on projects of his choosing.”
The grant agreement was posted as an open-source contract on GitHub.
“I really appreciate the continued financial support from 100x Group and now also Independent Reserve,” Ford said in the announcement. “The stable funding 100x Group has provided over the last three years has allowed me to focus full time on open-source development. I’m looking forward to continuing to work on Bitcoin Core full time over the next year.”
100x Group (then called HDR Global Trading Limited) teamed with cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin to make a $150,000 grant to Bitcoin Core Developer Amiti Uttarwar in June 2020. Its Open-Source Developer Grant Program has also provided grants to Bitcoin developers Gleb Maumenko, Jeremy Rubin and Calbin Kim, as well as the MIT Digital Currency Initiative.