By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
Top cryptocurrency exchange, BitMex, has announced that it has paid $100 million in fines to the financial crimes enforcement network (FinCen) and the commodity futures trading commission (CFTC).
Reacting to the news, BitMex CEO, Alexander Hoptner, said “we are happy to put these legal woes behind us and forge forward. Like the evolution in the crypto space, we are also evolving into the biggest crypto derivative network with a completely verifiable userbase. The main objectives of our business which are also the core of our long-term success, is a detailed user verification, compliance, and anti-fraud feature.”
The firm gave a brief overview of some compliance milestones it has achieved. One was the partnership with blockchain data platform, Chainalysis, while the other was the compulsory identity verification program. Part of the announcement states the exchange is making efforts to obtain operations licenses from several regions.
It has been all-around good news in the BitMex community today. Before the announcement of paying its regulatory fines, the company announced that it had inked an agreement with top Italian Serie A side AC Milan football club to include its logo on the players’ jersey sleeves for the new 2021/22 soccer season.
Three Former Bitmex Excos Will Still Stand Trial
Launched three years ago, BitMex quickly rose to become a force in the crypto space. But late last year, the CFTC accused the firm of using its platform to commit fraud and running an unlicensed trading platform. Also, three BitMex executives at that time were alleged by the department of justice to have violated the banking secrecy act.
The three executives who have since been relieved of their duties will be facing trial in America by March next year. Their names are Arthur Hayes (CEO), Samuel Reed, and Benjamin Delo (co-founders). Hayes gave himself up to the law enforcement agents in Hawaii early this year but was granted a $10 million bail, which he paid and has been released on bail.
SEC Fines Poloniex Crypto Exchange For Running An Illegal Exchange
America’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined California-based crypto exchange, Poloniex, for violating SEC rules. Part of the announcement by SEC reveals that Poloniex was offering cryptocurrency trading to American crypto traders between 2017 and 2019. But it didn’t have an operating license which is a breach of section 5 of the SEC act.
However, SEC also revealed that Poloniex chose to pay the settlement fee, which totaled about $10.5 million, instead of admitting or denying the charges brought against it. The $10.5 million is a combination of fines for prejudgment interest, civil penalty, and the court settlement fee.
Circle purchased Poloniex for $405 million in 2018. But by late 2019, the company changed its name to polo digital assets and ceased to offer its services to Americans citing unfavorable policies.
There were reports two months ago that circle has lost almost $157 million out of the $400 million it paid to acquire Poloniex. Part of the lost amount includes payments for legal cases, especially fines imposed by the SEC.
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