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ARTICLE · 06 OCTOBER 2020

CFTC Charges Crypto-Derivatives Platform With Trading And AML Violations

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
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According to the Complaint, BitMEX is the world's largest cryptocurrency derivatives platform and has numerous U.S. customers.

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The CFTC filed charges against five entities and three individuals (collectively, "BitMEX") for owning and operating an unregistered platform for the trading of derivatives on cryptocurrencies. In addition to multiple CEA-related violations, the defendants were charged with violations of money laundering regulations.

According to the Complaint, BitMEX is the world's largest cryptocurrency derivatives platform and has numerous U.S. customers. The CFTC alleged that the platform illegally operated as an unregistered futures commission merchant and was not registered as a swap execution facility or designated as a contract market. The CFTC asserted that BitMEX facilitated digital asset derivatives transactions with an aggregate notional value of "trillions of dollars," received more than $11 billion in bitcoin deposits, and earned fees of more than $1 billion.

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