President Donald Trump pardoned Bitmex co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed on March 27, 2025, clearing their 2022 convictions for failing to maintain adequate AML and KYC programs.
President Trump Clears Bitmex Founders’ Convictions
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Presidential Pardon Wipes Bitmex Founders’ Charges
Bitmex, a Seychelles-based crypto derivatives exchange launched in 2014, faced U.S. legal scrutiny in 2020 when prosecutors accused its founders of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Authorities alleged that the platform operated without adequate anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, enabling anonymous trading that could facilitate illicit finance.
The founders pleaded guilty in 2022, post-Trump’s first term, to willfully neglecting AML requirements. Hayes and Delo received probation and six-figure fines, while Reed accepted similar terms. A fourth executive, Gregory Dwyer, was convicted but not included in Trump’s pardon.
The pardons, issued during Trump’s second term, eliminate the trio’s criminal records but do not reverse fines. No official explanation was provided, though the move aligns with Trump’s recent pro- crypto stance, including meetings with industry leaders and prior pardons for figures like Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht. The pardon wave has also sparked speculation that Roger Ver—currently battling extradition to the U.S. over alleged tax violations—might benefit from a similar pardon
Hayes and Reed have not publicly commented. The pardons’ timing—a day before Trump’s reported policy announcements—fuels debate over their implications for crypto regulation and presidential clemency norms.
“The U.S. Department of Justice wrongfully targeted Bitmex and its co-founders,” Benjamin Delo said in a statement shared with Bitcoin.com News. “This full and unconditional pardon by President Trump is a vindication of the position we have always held – that BitMEX, my co-founders and I should never have been charged with a criminal offense through an obscure, antiquated law. As the most successful crypto exchange of its kind, we were wrongfully made to serve as an example, sacrificed for political reasons and used to send inconsistent regulatory signals.”
The Bitmex co-founder added:
I’m sincerely grateful to the President for granting this pardon to me and my co-founders. A legal wrong has been righted today and despite the distress I have been through over the past few years I’m pleased to have cleared my name and to be able to continue my life and philanthropic work without the burden of an unfounded conviction.
