Crypto prices surge as Trump announces U.S. strategic reserve plan
Prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have surged following Donald Trump’s announcement about a U.S. cryptocurrency reserve. In a social media post, he detailed that the reserve includes bitcoin, ether, and smaller tokens such as XRP, solana, and cardano.
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump has granted clemency to three founders of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, as per a source familiar with the pardons.
The co-founders – Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed – had previously pleaded guilty in 2022 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to adhere to money laundering regulations and inadequate monitoring of the exchange. Trump signed the pardons on Thursday without public announcement.
BitMEX was assessed a fine of $100 million in January for its willful neglect to establish, implement, and maintain a reliable anti-money laundering and know-your-customer program.
Delo released a statement on Friday proclaiming that the Justice Department “unjustly targeted BitMEX and its co-founders.” He also expressed gratitude to Trump for his clemency.
“This complete and unconditional pardon from President Trump validates our consistent position – that BitMEX and my co-founders and I should never have faced criminal charges through an outdated, obscure law,” Delo stated. “As a leading crypto exchange, we were wrongly portrayed as scapegoats for political motivations, creating inconsistent regulatory signals.”
“Today marks the righting of a legal wrong, and despite the challenges I’ve faced these past few years, I am relieved to have cleared my name and to be able to carry on with my life and philanthropic efforts without the weight of an unjust conviction,” Delo added.
Federal prosecutors had stated that as cryptocurrencies become more widespread, companies involved in the virtual economy are essential gatekeepers to ensure fair and secure markets. Then-U.S. Attorney Damian Williams claimed that the founders of BitMEX failed to implement even basic anti-money laundering measures.
“They enabled BitMEX to operate as a platform hidden from financial market scrutiny,” Williams remarked.
BitMEX is an online platform for cryptocurrency derivatives that catered to thousands of U.S. users, according to court documents. From at least September 2015 up to the indictment of the founders in September 2020, the exchange was effectively a platform for money laundering, as described in court filings.
The company’s website claimed that “no real name or other advanced verification is necessary on BitMEX,” according to court records. Reed stated in an email in August 2015 that BitMEX’s advantages encompassed “the ability to open an account without burdensome KYC requirements,” referring to the federal know-your-customer mandates.
Reed was informed in May 2018 of allegations that BitMEX was being utilized to launder the proceeds of a cryptocurrency hack, as indicated in court documents. However, neither Reed nor the company submitted a suspicious activity report to the Treasury Department.
Hayes, based in Miami, and Delo, located in the UK and Hong Kong, both pleaded guilty in February 2022 to a charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to pay a $10 million fine each. Reed entered a guilty plea in March 2022 to the same charge under the same terms.
Hayes was sentenced in May 2022 to two years of probation, with the first six months served under home detention. Delo received a sentence of 30 months of probation in June 2022, while Reed was sentenced to 18 months of probation in July 2022.
Prosecutors expressed disagreement with the sentences, contending they should have been more severe given the gravity of the offenses.
This story has been updated with additional information.
