BitMEX to diversify by offering spot crypto trading services

• The Seychelles-based crypto exchange unveiled its spot trading platform today
• The BitMEX founding trio was recently fined $30 million for conducting business in the US illegally

BitMEX exchange now allows traders to buy and sell crypto assets offered on its newly launched spot trading platform. Prior to today, the exchange did not support spot crypto trading despite being founded more than half a dozen years ago and having spread to over 100 countries.

“Today, BitMEX is one step closer to providing our users with a full crypto ecosystem to buy, sell, and trade their favourite digital assets,” CEO Alexander Höpner said. “We will not rest as we aim to deliver more features, more trading pairs, and more ways for our clients to take part in the crypto revolution.”

Seven crypto products trade on the platform

The spot exchange, which is already live, supports both market and limit orders. The pairs of cryptocurrencies supported at present are Bitcoin (XBT), Uniswap (UNI), Polygon (MATIC), Chainlink (LINK), Ethereum (ETH), Apecoin (APE), and Axie Infinity (AXS), all paired against Tether (USDT). 

BitMEX confirmed in the announcement post that more cryptocurrencies and other trading pairs are on the way. To attract more users to the platform, the spot exchange has resorted to giveaways and offers for existing as well as potential traders seeking to try out the exchange.

For users to gain access to trading pairs, they’ll have to buy Tether via the fiat gateway partners. These partners include Banxa, which supports fast and secure fiat-to-crypto purchases. Payments can be made via Visa and Mastercard credit/ debit cards, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.

Controversial founders caught in legal troubles

The diversification of BitMEX away from derivatives comes at a time when its founding members face legal troubles. In February, Arthur Hayes and his partner Benjamin Delo pled guilty to charges of being in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act in a case brought forward by the Department of Justice. 

Earlier this month, in a separate case, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York slapped a $30 million ($10million each) fine on the duo and third co-founder, Samuel Reed. The court found that the trio violated Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations and the Commodity Exchange Act between 2014 – the year the exchange started operations – and October 2020.  

“The complaint charged the entities and their founders with operating the BitMEX platform while conducting significant aspects of BitMEX’s business from the US, and unlawfully accepting orders and funds from US customers to trade cryptocurrencies,” the CFTC wrote in the press release announcing the civil penalty.

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