United States Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known as “Crypto Mom,” believes the recent action against BitMEX may be a wake-up call for crypto firms. In an interview with “Unchained Podcast” on Oct. 13, SEC commissioner told host Laura Shin that the recent charges laid against BitMEX by the U.S. Department of Justice and the CFTC have put the international crypto industry on notice about U.S. anti-money laundering and know your customer (KYC) regulations.
BitMEX charges send a message to exchanges worldwide.
The US SEC commissioner Pierce said, “I think that the message has been coming to the industry fairly loud and clear on the AML/KYC front, and I’m sure it will continue.” “It’s sending a message to the crypto world that when there are U.S. users of a product or a service, there’s going to be enforcement of U.S. laws,” she added. On Oct.1, the CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against BitMEX and three of its executives for violating AML regulations. In addition, the DOJ filed criminal charges against four executives, including founder Arthur Hayes, for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
BitMEX co-founders charged for violating US AML laws.
BitMEX executives Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and Gregory Dwyer were charged with one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and one count of conspiracy, according to an indictment. Arthur Hayes is known for feuding with bitcoin skeptics such as economist Nouriel Roubini and urging traders to gamble on the most esoteric digital assets. The CFTC said BitMEX’s founders “failed to implement the most basic compliance procedures,” such as registering their activity with the CFTC. BitMEX received more than $11 billion in bitcoin deposits from accounts with U.S. connections since 2014 and has earned more than $1 billion in fees, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleged in the lawsuit.
