BitMEX Operator Appoints Compliance Head To Resolve Regulatory Issues

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 10/13/2020 10:27 AM ET

100x Group, the holding group for HDR Global Trading Ltd., owner and operator of the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange or BitMEX platform, has appointed Malcolm Wright as the chief compliance officer.

This is expected to enable the crypto derivatives exchange to effectively handle and resolve the issues arising from the recent legal filings and regulatory crackdown against it. This appointment will also help BitMEX in their move towards completion of the User Verification Programme and further enhance its compliance function.

While leading 100x Group's compliance efforts globally, Wright will report directly to Vivien Khoo, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

"For me, compliance is non-negotiable, and a prerequisite for exchanges to be embraced by regulators and institutional investors alike," said Wright.

Wright is a international speaker on a variety of related topics, in particular the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). He brings in an extensive background in compliance and anti-money laundering (AML).

Wright also sits on a number of international committees and currently chairs the Advisory Council and AML Working Group at Global Digital Finance, an industry-led initiative in defining codes of conduct and best practices for the virtual asset industry.

This appointment is in addition to the leadership changes made at 100x Group last week on the back of regulatory and legal issues at BitMEX.

The co-founders, CEO Arthur Hayes and CTO Samuel Reed, withdrew from all executive management responsibilities. Another Co-Founder Ben Delo will also not hold executive positions in the 100x Group, along with Hayes and Reed. Additionally, Greg Dwyer took leave of absence from his role as Head of Business Development. It also named Chief Operating Officer Vivien Khoo as the Interim CEO.

Hayes, Reed and Delo operate BitMEX's platform through a maze of corporate entities. These entities are HDR Global Trading Ltd., 100x Holding Ltd., ABS Global Trading Ltd., Shine Effort Inc Ltd., and HDR Global Services (Bermuda) Ltd. (BitMEX).

Hayes, Reed, Delo and Dwyer are facing jail term of five years after being indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New York last week on federal charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act.

Simultaneously, Hayes, Reed, Delo and the five related entities have also been charged by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for illegally operating an unregistered trading platform and for violating the anti-money laundering regulations.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Article written by an RTT News Staff Writer, and posted on the RTT News.com website.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitmex’s Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed Step Down From CEO and CTO Roles

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS • WALLETS AND EXCHANGES   •   OCTOBER 8, 2020

Quick take:

• Bitmex’s Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed are stepping down from their roles as CEO and CTO respectively
• The move comes a week after the US CFTC and DoJ charged them with illegally operating a derivatives exchange and violating the Bank Secrecy Act
• Vivien Khoo, Chief Operating Officer of 100x Group, will become Interim CEO
• Ben Radclyffe, Commercial Director at Bitmex, will have enhanced responsibility for client relationship handling and oversight of financial products

The team at Bitmex has announced that Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed are stepping down from their CEO and CTO roles effective immediately. The announcement by the team at Bitmex further clarified that all founders, including Ben Delo, will step back from all executive management responsibilities.

Founders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed have stepped back from all executive management responsibilities for their respective CEO and CTO roles with immediate effect.

With fellow Founder Ben Delo, they will not hold executive positions in the 100x Group. Additionally, Greg Dwyer will take a leave of absence from his role as Head of Business Development.

The move by the founders of Bitmex to step down comes a week after the US CFTC and Department of Justice charged them with illegally operating a derivatives exchange and violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

Vivien Khoo as Interim CEO and Ben Radclyffe to Oversee Financial products

In terms of filling the void left by the founders of Bitmex, Vivien Khoo, the Chief Operating Officer of 100x Group, has been named Interim CEO. The current Commercial Director, Ben Radclyffe, has been given ‘enhanced responsibility for client relationship handling and oversight of financial products’.

The Chairman of 100x Group, David Wong, explained that the changes were meant at maintaining focus on Bitmex’s core business and to further push for the completion of Bitmex’s User Verification Program.

These changes to our executive leadership mean we can focus on our core business of offering superior trading opportunities for all our clients through the BitMEX platform, whilst maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance.

We have an exceptional senior leadership team who are well-placed to continue the growth and development of the 100x Group, including completion of the BitMEX User Verification Programme. It is business as usual for us and we thank all clients for their continued support.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

CFTC Charges BitMEX For Illegally Operating Crypto-derivatives Platform

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 10/2/2020 10:15 AM ET

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has charged cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange or BitMEX for illegally operating an unregistered trading platform and for violating the anti-money laundering regulations.

A civil enforcement action was filed 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 in violation of multiple CFTC regulations.

This case is brought in connection with the Division of Enforcement's Digital Asset and Bank Secrecy Act Task Forces.

The regulator has charged Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, who operate BitMEX's platform through a maze of corporate entities. These entities, also charged, are HDR Global Trading Ltd., 100x Holding Ltd., ABS Global Trading Ltd., Shine Effort Inc Ltd., and HDR Global Services (Bermuda) Ltd. (BitMEX).

According to the complaint, BitMEX's platform has received more than $11 billion in bitcoin deposits and made more than $1 billion in fees, while conducting significant aspects of its business from the U.S. and accepting orders and funds from U.S. customers since beginning operations in 2014.

The CFTC alleges that BitMEX has failed to implement the most basic compliance procedures required of financial institutions that impact U.S. markets.

The CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, restitution for the benefit of customers, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

Simultaneously, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New York indicted Hayes, Delo, and Reed, along with Gregory Dwyer, on federal charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act.

In response to both the actions, BitMEX said in a statement, "We strongly disagree with the U.S. government's heavy-handed decision to bring these charges, and intend to defend the allegations vigorously. From our early days as a start-up, we have always sought to comply with applicable U.S. laws, as those laws were understood at the time and based on available guidance."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Article written by an RTT News Staff Writer, and posted on the RTT News.com website.

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Bitmex Launches its Highly Anticipated Mobile App

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Quick take:

• Bitmex has finally launched a mobile app
• Bitmex had long been without a mobile app and users had requested it for quite some time
• The mobile app will provide users with a full range of innovative products
• It is currently available on the Google Play Store and Apple Store

Moments ago, the team at Bitmex has announced the release of its highly anticipated mobile trading app. The exchange had hinted about launching a mobile app back in June and this move is in line with Bitmex providing users with a way to trade derivatives on the go. The team at Bitmex further elaborated that the new app will be safe, secure and will feature Bitmex’s full range of innovative products.

Below is a tweet by the exchange providing a video demonstration of the mobile app.

Available on Google Play and the Apple App Store

Furthermore, the Bitmex mobile app will be available on both Google Play store and the Apple app store. The app will be available to residents of over 140 countries with more being added with time. Additionally, users can also download the APK of the app directly from the Bitmex website: www.bitmex.com/mobile.

Screenshot courtesy of Bitmex.com/mobile (Click image for larger view)

Current Features and New Ones to Be Added With Time

At the time of writing the Bitmex mobile app includes the following features:

• Order builder – allows traders to quickly create limit, stop and take profit orders
• Management of open positions
• Real-time data and candlestick charts
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Biometric authentication

Bitmex also promises to add new features as time goes by, in a bid to meet the demands of users.

Mobile App Could Assist in Encouraging Users to Stick to Bitmex

To note is that the launch of Bitmex mobile app comes days after the exchange announced that it will now require all users to verify their identity. Traders on Bitmex were given until February next year to complete its standard KYC procedure.

The mobile app comes at an opportune time as it might just be what the doctor ordered for Bitmex in the sense that it will help maintain the exchange’s user base. For a very long time, Bitmex was one of the few crypto exchanges without a mobile app. It was lagging behind other major exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, Deribit, just to name a few.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitmex Gives Crypto Traders till Feb 2021 to Verify User Accounts

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS   •   August 14, 2020

In summary:

• Bitmex will be launching a user verification program on the 28th of August.
• All customers will be required to complete ID checks within the next 6 months.
• Bitmex has given a February 12th, 2021 deadline for users of the platform to verify their accounts.
• The new KYC requirements are geared towards making the platform more secure and trustworthy.

The popular crypto derivatives platform of Bitmex has announced that it will be launching a user verification program on the 28th of August. Once launched, crypto traders on Bitmex will be required to complete ID checks within the next 6 months. The exchange has given users up to February 12th, 2021 to complete the user verification process.

KYC Will Simplify the Resolution of Issues

The new measures are aimed at making Bitmex more secure and trustworthy for all Bitmex Users. The verification of ID will allow Bitmex to identify the actual owner of an account and simplify the process of resolving any issues as explained below.

…user identity verification is increasingly expected in order to meet evolving international regulatory standards, and is an important part of building trust in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Practical customer security is greatly enhanced by identity verification, allowing BitMEX support personnel to reliably verify the actual owner of an account in the event of a dispute, hack, or incapacitation.

Four-Step KYC Process on Bitmex

The team at the exchange has also provided the following steps necessary for users to verify their identification.

The User Verification Programme will require individual users to go through a four-step process similar to ID checks on many other cryptocurrency exchanges.

Individual users will be prompted to upload a photo ID and proof of address, take a selfie, as well as answer a few multiple-choice questions about source of funds and trading experience.

It should take about five minutes to complete from start to finish.

Trading Tournament to Kick off the KYC Process on Bitmex

Additionally, the team at Bitmex has announced that there will be a trading tournament to kick-off the KYC drive on the platform. Participants of the trading tournament will have to complete the KYC process to be eligible for sizable prizes.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe