BitMEX CTO Samuel Reed released on $5 million bond
Quick Take
- BitMEX CTO Samuel Reed, who was charged and arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice on October 1, has been released on a $5 million appearance bond.
- Reed is being represented by lead attorney William J. Trach of Latham & Watkins LLP.
BitMEX CTO Samuel Reed, who was charged and arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice on October 1, has been released on a $5 million appearance bond.
According to a court document reviewed by The Block, Reed's bond was approved on October 3, on conditions that he would appear for court proceedings and if convicted, would surrender to serve a sentence.
The court hearing took place on October 1 via video conference. Reed is being represented by lead attorney William J. Trach of Latham & Watkins LLP.
The $5 million bond is unsecured, with $500,000 in cash. Reed and his wife's passports have also been reportedly seized.
Reed, 31, was arrested in Massachusetts for allegedly violating the Bank Secrecy Act and “willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (‘AML’) program at the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange or ‘BitMEX.’”
Reed was charged along with his co-founders and colleagues Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, who remain at large.
Yesterday, BitMEX announced that all the four executives have stepped back from their positions given the charges by the U.S. government.
BitMEX was hit with two lawsuits on October 1, by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice. The CFTC accused the derivative exchange and its operators of running an unregistered trading platform and violating anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations.
HDR Global Trading, the parent company of BitMEX and one of the defendants named in the CFTC lawsuit, vowed to fight the charges at the time.
BitMEX has maintained that it is "business as usual" for it, but bitcoin withdrawals, open interest for its futures, and volumes show a different picture. More than 40,000 bitcoin, currently worth about $435 million, has been withdrawn from BitMEX, according to various data trackers.
Open interest in BitMEX's bitcoin futures market has shrunk from more than $1 billion to under $600 million. Volumes have also declined.
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