A federal judge has sentenced HDR Global Trading Limited, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, to two years of unsupervised probation and a $100 million fine.
In a Jan. 15 hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl passed down the sentence against BitMEX, roughly six months after the crypto exchange pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by operating without “any meaningful” Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
The crypto firm called the charges “old news” in July 2024, suggesting at the time it expected no additional fines.
The US Attorney’s office alleged BitMEX “flaunted” BSA requirements by not implementing an AML program with Know Your Customer standards, instead requesting users provide their email addresses. In a statement to its users after the judgment, BitMEX reiterated its claim that the BSA charge was “old news,” adding:
“Whilst we are disappointed to learn of the imposition of an additional financial penalty, the amount is substantially less than what the Department of Justice have been pursuing us for over 3 years.”
In a December sentencing submission to the court, the US government requested the judge conclude that BitMEX unlawfully gained $155 million from US sources as part of its BSA offense from 2015 to 2020 and asked it to impose a $417-million fine. The court dismissed all open counts against the crypto firm as part of the sentencing hearing.
Criminal and civil charges all around
The Jan. 15 judgment was part of a criminal case against BitMEX after the firm and its executives had reached separate settlements with US regulators. BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed and an employee, Gregory Dwyer, were sentenced to probation in 2022 for violating the BSA.
Related: BitMEX co-founder must face suit over ‘God Access’ trading desk, judge rules
In 2022, Hayes, Delo, and Reed were ordered to pay $30 million in penalties as part of a civil case with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In 2021, the firm agreed to pay $100 million in consent payments to both the CFTC and the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Center, or FinCEN.
The sentencing appeared to mark the beginning of the end of US criminal and civil cases against BitMEX and its executives after roughly four years of litigation. Hayes stepped down from his role at the crypto firm in 2020, surrendering to US authorities in 2021 over the BSA allegations.
Magazine: Crypto market is ‘not playing ball’ so far in 2025: Jason Pizzino, X Hall of Flame