Trump Pardons Arthur Hayes and BitMEX Founders — Redemption or a Power Play for Crypto Votes?

Recently, it was announced that the US President Donald Trump has pardoned the three co-founders of the industry giant. The three co-founders of the BitMEX crypto exchange received this pardon. Their legal case ended in 2022 with all co-founders pleading guilty and being mandated to pay $10 million in fines. Samuel Reed, Arthur Hayes, and Benjamin Delo also received criminal sentences and probation. The case also mentioned that their crypto exchange did not use effective anti-money laundering and know-your-customer measures.

Behind the Lawsuit: BitMEX Founders and the KYC Scandal

The BitMEX crypto exchange was founded in 2014. Based on the lawsuit, the cofounders did not implement any KYC measures between 2015 and 2020. The prosecutors claimed that these executives knew that they were mandated to implement money laundering systems. It was mentioned that as BitMEX served US customers, it had to comply with the laws of the United States. “But chose to flout those requirements, requiring only that customers provide an email address to use BitMEX’s services.”There is also an official statement from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office that goes into detail about the accusation.

Probation, Not Prison: How BitMEX Execs Dodged the Worst

“Indeed, senior executives each knew that customers residing in the U.S. continued to access BitMEX’s trading platform through at least in or about 2018, and that BitMEX policies nominally in place to prevent such trading were toothless or easily overridden to serve BitMEX’s bottom line goal of obtaining revenue through the U.S. market without regard to U.S. criminal laws.”. Benjamin Delo, who was the chief operating officer and chief strategy officer, was also given 30 months of probation. Arthur Hayes received two years of probation after six months of home confinement. The BitMEX chief technology officer, Samuel Reed, got 18 months of probation.

Trump Pardons BitMEX Founders – Founders React 

Two of the cofounders of BitMEX commented on their Pardon and thanked Donald Trump. Hayes published an X post and wrote on his official X account, “Thank you POTUS”. Delo also gave a statement saying that, in the first place, they should not have been charged and convicted. “The US Department of Justice wrongfully targeted BitMEX and its co-founders.” he countinued “This full and unconditional pardon by President Trump is a vindication of the position we have always held – that BitMEX, my co-founders and I should never have been charged with a criminal offense through an obscure, antiquated law,”

Thank you @POTUS

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) March 28, 2025

Deli continued to support his argument and brought up the reasons why he thinks they were charged wrongfully. In his opinion, BitMEX was made to be an example, and prosecution was just a political move. He also said that they were targeted because BitMEX was one of the most successful. He continued by thanking Donald Trump for the pardon and went on further to talk about the effects of his conviction. He said that he was happy that a wrong had been righted and mentioned the distress he had endured. However, he stated that now he is happy that his name has been cleared.

Regulatory Reset: Trump Return Ushers Pro-Crypto Policies

Donald Trump has also pardoned the founder and former CEO of electric truck maker Nikola, Trevor Milton. This executive was sentenced to 4 years in prison as he was prosecuted for securities fraud. Trump’s reelection has also changed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as it has been dropping cases against crypto companies. As such, with this change in the government’s regulatory approach, there is no better time for crypto innovation and widespread adoption.

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