The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is going to investigate cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
The regulator would focus on whether or not BitMEX, a Seychelles-based firm, has been offering services to the American citizens. The exchange lets people make big bets on the cryptocurrencies with as much as 100-times margins. The CFTC considers cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as commodities, which brings companies like BitMEX – that offers futures and other crypto-based derivatives trading services – under its jurisdiction.
Bloomberg reached BiMEX for further clarification and received the statement from the firm’s spokesperson as follows:
“HDR Global Trading Limited, owner of BitMEX, as a matter of company policy, does not comment on any media reports about inquiries or investigations by government agencies or regulators and we have no comment on this report.”
Americans Cannot Access BitMEX Until They Can
The alleged investigation follows BitMEX’s removal from the North American markets. In 2018, Canadian regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) sent a letter to the crypto derivative firm over its unlicensed status in the region. But, according to BitMEX’s press representative Wachsman, the firm had started closing the accounts of all its US and Canada-based customers from as back as 2015.
“BitMEX has banned all US traders since 2015, and has been proactively closing accounts since guidance was obtained by US regulators, in particular the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” Wachsman’s Joe Coufal told the South China Morning Post.
The post US Regulator to Probe BitMeX Cryptocurrency Exchange: Bloomberg appeared first on NewsBTC.
Reviewed by Eugene D
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July 19, 2019
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