Key Insights
- Trump pardoned three BitMEX co-founders after their guilty pleas to financial crime charges.
- The BitMEX founders faced sentences, fines, and regulatory scrutiny over money laundering violations.
- Trump also pardoned Nikola’s Trevor Milton and Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht in financial crime cases.
President Donald Trump has issued a BitMEX pardon to three of the crypto exchange’s co-founders—Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. The move follows their guilty pleas to federal charges involving money laundering. As well as the failure to implement compliance protocols at the cryptocurrency exchange.
The pardons follow months after BitMEX was fined $100 million by federal regulators over financial violations.
BitMEX Founders Receive Presidential Pardons
The three co-founders had faced various legal consequences for their roles at BitMEX. Hayes, the former CEO, was sentenced to six months of home confinement followed by two years of probation.
Prosecutors accused the three of operating BitMEX as a “money laundering platform” and claimed its supposed withdrawal from the U.S. market was misleading. Federal authorities asserted that the exchange failed to implement required anti-money laundering and “know your customer” programs, leading to regulatory violations. The company was later fined $100 million for failing to comply with financial laws.
Additional Pardons in Financial Cases
In addition to the BitMEX pardons, Trump granted clemency to Trevor Milton, the founder as well as former CEO of electric truck company Nikola. Milton had been found guilty of fraud in the securities market and was given a term of four years behind the bars. However, he was released before the appeal was conducted. His crime included falsifying facts on the competence of Nikola’s electric and hydrogen fueled trucks causing financial loss.
Trump earlier made a decision on January 22 to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind Silk Road. Ulbricht received a life imprisonment sentence for operating an online marketplace where transactions on drugs and other unlawful products were made using Bitcoin. He is one of the first individuals prosecuted for crimes in relation to Bitcoins in the United States.
Legal Fallout and Public Reaction to BitMEX Pardon
Trump justified the pardon of Ulbricht, claiming that those involved in his prosecution were also responsible for politically motivated legal actions against him. He described Ulbricht’s clemency as “full and unconditional” and personally informed Ulbricht’s mother of his release. Ulbricht was freed from federal custody in Arizona following the announcement.
The BitMEX pardon and other crypto-related clemency decisions sparked debate among legal experts. Some warned that these moves could set precedents in future financial crime prosecutions. While Trump’s pardons clear the individuals, BitMEX remains under investigation after its $100 million penalty.
Disclaimer
In this article, the views and opinions stated by the author or any people named are for informational purposes only, and they don’t establish the investment, financial, or any other advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrency assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
Moses K is a crypto journalist covering markets, regulation, and blockchain trends. He has written for The Coin Republic, Coinchapter, Cryptopolitan, Cryptotale, Coinspeaker, and MPost. Known for his concise, data-driven reporting, Moses focuses on price analysis, on-chain metrics, and policy developments shaping the global digital asset landscape.