Crypto exchange BitMEX has been ordered to pay a $100 million penalty for violating U.S. banking laws.
A federal judge ordered HDR Global Trading Limited, BitMEX’s parent company, to pay the penalty along with a two-year unsupervised probation sentence.
In a ruling on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl, of the Southern District of New York, rejected BitMEX’s argument that an earlier $110 million fine was sufficient for its violations.
The order comes six months after BitMEX’s parent company pleaded guilty to charges of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. In July 2024, the company downplayed the new guilty plea as “old news,” pointing out that its founders had already made similar pleas in 2022.
Following the judge’s decision on Jan. 15, BitMEX issued a brief statement.
“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 3 years.”
BitMEX acknowledged that during the case, the U.S. Department of Justice initially sought over $200 million as part of a plea deal settlement. After the exchange rejected that offer, the government pursued penalties of up to $420 million.
“Given that the Court has determined an amount substantially below these levels is a justification of our stance and we query whether U.S. taxpayer resources could have been better applied over this period,’ BitMEX wrote.
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