Bitcoin is tumbling lower after it was revealed that the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is charging BitMEX. BitMEX is a leading crypto derivatives platform based in the Seychelles.
The U.S. regulatory agency, which focuses on derivatives, was rumored to be investigating the company. In 2019, Bloomberg came out with a report suggesting that the CFTC was investigating the company over its potential servicing of U.S. clientele. The exchange does not have the license to operate in the U.S., and the CFTC has taken action against Bitcoin and crypto derivatives platforms in the past.
In the press release announcing this news, the CFTC wrote:
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York charging five entities and three individuals that own and operate the BitMEX trading platform with operating an unregistered trading platform and violating multiple CFTC regulations, including failing to implement required anti-money laundering procedures.”
The CFTC names BitMEX’s parent company, 100x Holding, along with limited entities and the co-founders of BitMEX.
According to Jake Chervisnky, a lawyer working in the crypto space, the bigger news is that the three co-founders of BitMEX were indicted on criminal charges. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
🚨 The CFTC just charged BitMEX with illegally operating a derivatives trading platform.
But the *much* bigger news: USAO-SDNY has indicted Arthur