BitMEX exchange probed by CFTC for illegal trading in the United States

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reported to launched investigations into BitMEX exchange. BitMEX according to Bloomberg is very popular in the Asian region particularly for allowing users to place huge bets using little funds.

The current probe as per the information from people familiar with the matter will take approximately a month. The regulator intends to find out if BitMEX bent the rules and allowed people in the United States to use the platform for trading. BitMEX is not registered with the CFTC and therefore, is not allowed to carry out trading activities in the US.

Probed for a comment, the spokeswoman of BitMEX told Bloomberg:

“HDR Global Trading Limited, owner of BitMEX, as a matter of company policy, does not comment on any media reports about inquiries or investigations by government agencies or regulators and we have no comment on this report.”

The CEO of BitMEX Arthur Hayes in an interview in January said that the exchange does not encourage customers who go against company guidelines. Therefore, US residents had been blocked from accessing exchange. This could mean that that some customers used software that hide location to bypass the barrier.