Thomas Daniels
Following their convictions on federal charges pertaining to anti-money laundering offenses, former U.S. President Donald Trump has granted complete pardons to Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, the co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX.
The executives previously acknowledged that BitMEX did not follow the correct anti-money laundering procedures when they entered a guilty plea to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Federal prosecutors referred to the site as a “money laundering platform” since it did not put the necessary compliance safeguards in place. Reed admitted his involvement and consented to pay a criminal charge of $10 million in 2022. Delo and Hayes made comparable pleas and paid comparable fines.
Authorities considered BitMEX’s purported exit from the U.S. market to be a front. BitMEX’s parent business, HDR Global Trading Limited, was hit with a $100 million fine in January 2025 for breaking banking regulations in the United States. Additionally, the business was put on unsupervised probation for two years.
BitMEX made a strategic decision to sell in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny, and in late 2024, it hired Broadhaven Capital Partners to help with the deal. The development occurred when the crypto derivatives industry saw an increase in consolidation activities.
Trump also awarded mercy to Trevor Milton, the former CEO of Nikola Corporation, who was found guilty of securities fraud, on Thursday, the same day the pardons were announced. Milton was released pending appeal after receiving a four-year prison sentence.
Trump’s clemency rulings have stoked conjecture about a possible change in governmental stance toward digital assets during a future second Trump administration, especially with regard to individuals in the fintech and cryptocurrency sectors.
