- BitMEX fined $100 million for AML violations after 2022 guilty plea
- US court also imposed two years of unsupervised probation for the exchange
HDR Global Trading Limited, the operator of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, has been ordered to pay a $100 million fine following the exchange’s 2022 guilty plea for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
On January 15, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York sentenced the company and included two years of unsupervised probation as part of the penalty.
The case arose from BitMEX’s operation without a meaningful Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, a core requirement under U.S. law for financial platforms handling customer funds and transactions.
In 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought charges against BitMEX owners for operating an unregistered cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform and for related AML deficiencies. Following those enforcement actions, BitMEX implemented customer verification and AML measures and entered a guilty plea in 2022.
In early 2023, a separate lawsuit filed by BMA LLC alleged that BitMEX provided services to U.S. customers through ABS Global, an entity controlled and operated by HDR, without registering as a money-transmitting business. The court acknowledged that violation during the hearing, while the remaining counts were dismissed at the request of the U.S. government.
After the sentence was announced, BitMEX issued a message to users expressing disappointment over the additional financial penalty. The company also noted that the imposed fine was substantially lower than the amount the Department of Justice had sought during its negotiating period over the previous three years.
This sentencing underscores ongoing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency platforms and reinforces the importance of robust compliance with U.S. banking and AML laws. For crypto firms, the case highlights clear legal and financial risks associated with lapses in compliance and serves as a reminder that regulators are prepared to pursue enforcement when requirements are not met.
As the industry continues to evolve, exchanges and related service providers are likely to face heightened expectations to implement effective AML controls, maintain transparent operations, and ensure adherence to applicable registration and reporting obligations under U.S. law.