BitMEX is on the mend from a regulatory perspective. As a reward, Chainalysis has now revised the classification of the exchange as a “high-risk” platform.
Almost a year ago, investigations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from the USA against BitMEX for a shock in the crypto space. The allegation of unlicensed trading in crypto derivatives was in the room and was directed primarily against the management team around CEO Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed and one other person. In addition, disregard of the KYC or AML guidelines expanded the list of charges. In the course of the proceedings, the officials finally left the crypto exchange and were arrested by the authorities a little later. As a result of the regulatory ambiguity, this prompted the analysis company Chainalysis, To classify BitMEX as a “high risk” platform. Bad tongues even spoke of a “Mt.Gox 2.0”.
BitMEX has since tried to give itself a more serious image after the misery. As a first step, there was a change at the top. Alexander Höptner was appointed as the new CEO. The main focus was on the experience that the 51-year-old was able to gain in both the traditional and the crypto financial sector. For example, he was on the board of directors for 15 years German Stock Exchangebefore becoming CEO of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange became.
In addition, Malcom Wright was brought on board as CCO. The expert in AML compliance and FATF guidelines should use their skills to bring the inadequate reporting obligations into shape. Shortly afterwards, the platform announced partnerships with the AML service providers Refinitive and Eventus Systems. Since then there has been a different wind on BitMEX. The supervision of the entire trading volume and the user base has now been successfully implemented.
Chainalysis removes BitMEX’s “high risk” classification
BitMEX is now reaping the fruits of its labor. After a “re-examination of the company criteria” the decision was made Chainalysis to withdraw the “high risk” classification. That gave BitMEX in a Press release famous. It says:
This followed an internal review of the criteria for the “High Risk Exchange” category by Chainalysis. The revision comes as part of our ongoing work on industry-leading compliance, AML, and user review programs.
BitMEX in a press release
CEO Alexander Höptner was relieved to BTC-ECHO by the cancellation of the classification and put the ambitions of BitMEX in the foreground.
Chainalysis’ removal of the “high risk” label from BitMEX is extremely welcome news and reflects the significant strides we have made in delivering industry-leading compliance, anti-money laundering and user verification programs. We believe that first class compliance is critical to building trust in cryptocurrencies among both users and regulators. We focus 100 percent on ensuring this.
BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner opposite BTC-ECHO
In addition, BitMEX assured that they had not yet reached the end of the compliance journey. Progress has already been made, but there are other steps that they want to take to fulfill their role as a “responsible pioneer”.