BitMEX slapped with $100 million fine, accused of evading US financial laws

• BitMEX exchange received a $100 million penalty after a Manhattan federal judge rejected a plea to accept previous fines as sufficient punishment. 
• The exchange has already paid $110 million in penalties before the latest fine.
• In July 2024, BitMEX pleaded guilty to violation of anti-money laundering laws. 

In a court order on Wednesday, HDR Global Trading Limited, which controls and operates the crypto exchange BitMEX, was hit with a $100 million fine by a US District Court for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.

BitMEX fined with $100 million after years of regulatory battle

A federal judge sentenced HDR Global Trading Limited, the parent company of the crypto exchange BitMEX, to two years of unsupervised probation. 

It also imposed a $100 million fine on the exchange for breaking the BSA and AML laws. The ruling was made by Judge John Koeltl of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

This is not the crypto platform's first run-in with the law. In October 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued the exchange and its founders for failing to implement AML procedures, including KYC verification for users on its platform. Nearly a year later, the court ordered BitMEX to pay $100 million in civil penalties in 2021.

In the latest verdict, the court refused BitMEX's argument that its previous guilty plea and $110 million fine were sufficient punishment for the five years of violation, as reported by Legal360.

BitMEX shared its disappointment with the newly imposed penalty following years of pleading guilty in court.

"Whilst we are disappointed to learn of the imposition of an additional financial penalty, the amount is substantially less than what the Department of Justice have been pursuing us for over [three] years," the exchange stated in a message to users.

It added that the court had been seeking a higher penalty fee for years, which it refused to pay.

"This process has run on for years, during which the DOJ first asked for over $200 million of new money to settle a plea deal – once we refused this ridiculous offer, they then sought a penalty of approximately $420 million in the sentencing proceedings."

BitMEX further implied that the case is old news, stating its excitement in dropping the years-long case.

"We are glad to move past this matter, and look forward to continuing to focus on innovation and delivering the best products and services to our users without further distraction," the exchange stated.

The court dismissed all remaining charges against BitMEX as part of its final ruling.

---