Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founders, Reports Say

U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned three co-founders of the BitMEX exchange, according to CNBC.

The individuals in question are company co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, who were accused of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act’s KYC and AML requirements. Former BitMEX Head of Business Development Greg Dwyer, who was involved in the case alongside them, was also pardoned.

Hayes expressed his gratitude to Trump on the social media platform X.

Thank you @POTUS

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) March 28, 2025

Delo also expressed appreciation to the president for the “full and unconditional pardon,” noting that the Justice Department’s actions against BitMEX and its employees were initially “unjust.”

“I and the other co-founders should never have been charged with a criminal offense under an unclear, outdated law. […] We were wrongfully used as an example, sacrificed for political reasons, and used to send inconsistent regulatory signals,” he stated.

Hayes, Delo, and Reed founded BitMEX around 2014. A year later, Gregory Dwyer joined the company as Head of Business Development.

For a prolonged period, the exchange served U.S. clients and operated through offices in the country without registration with the CFTC and without implementing AML programs.

According to law enforcement, the platform’s executives were aware of the legal violations. Moreover, they took steps to conceal the true nature of their activities from American banking institutions.

Hayes and Delo pleaded guilty in February 2022, Reed reached a deal with authorities in March, and Dwyer followed suit in August.

The co-founders were required to pay fines of $10 million each. Additionally, Hayes was sentenced to six months of house arrest and two years of probation, Delo received a 30-month probationary sentence, and Reed was given 18 months of probation.

In January 2025, BitMEX operator HDR Global Trading Limited was fined $100 million.