Ensuring the Continued Compliance of the BitMEX Platform, 19 August 2019

In 2014, HDR Global Trading Limited (HDR) was founded in Mahé, Seychelles as a small, dedicated team of young entrepreneurs focused on a simple mission: to build a crypto trading platform geared toward experienced traders first. We focused on building the most responsive interface, featuring groundbreaking products, controlled by a complete and seamless API, with the tightest security. From those ideals, BitMEX was built.

The market has spoken: BitMEX has succeeded. We are proud to have built the most innovative, reliable, and secure cryptocurrency platform in the world.

As BitMEX grows, so the world grows with it. In 2013, only months before we began, Bitcoin had just crashed from its second major bull-run. The dreams and wallet balances of the greater crypto community crashed with it. A new set of priorities emerged, focusing on safety, security, and stability. Financial regulators started to pay more attention to Bitcoin, and rightly so. It was clear to all of us that new standards were needed for this new industry.

Since then, the cryptocurrency landscape has changed dramatically, and leaders such as BitMEX have been working with regulators to help shape the industry, creating the standards that will help it go mainstream. 

The increased involvement of regulators with all the major players in the industry is not only to be expected, it is to be welcomed. It is the mission of good regulators to ensure that honest citizens are not being cheated. Regulators bear the burden of ensuring that risks are clearly communicated, products are fair, and taxes are collected. Through this process, we will see a new era of legitimacy for cryptocurrency exchanges: a future where market operation standards are clearly stated and maintained, where security is paramount, and where financial reserves are independently and frequently audited.

We believe fervently in these goals. And we understand that nothing is more sacred than the safety of your funds and the stability of the platform.

For this reason, we have decided to restrict access to BitMEX for users in the jurisdictions in which HDR-affiliated employees and offices are located. Seychelles, Hong Kong and Bermuda will be added to the list of jurisdictions already restricted from access to BitMEX. This change will have no financial impact on the business and will affect very few people. The BitMEX team will be reaching out to those who are affected. 

The BitMEX platform is entering a new and exciting era. This conservative action is not taken reactively, but proactively. We want to ensure we lead the industry not just in innovation but also in standards. 

  • We are extending the transparency of our systems so that our customers and stakeholders can better understand how BitMEX operates. 

  • We are showing third-parties why we believe BitMEX is a safe place to trade; how our innovative contracts are structured; why we keep an Insurance Fund; how auto-deleveraging is orderly and fair; how we know all accounts are 100% backed; and why we believe BitMEX has one of the safest custody solutions in the world. 

  • We are working on independent audits of our Insurance Fund, market making activities, and tradeable contract structure and we hope to share the results of these processes in the near future.

We believe success in the cryptocurrency space lies in the ability to think long-term, not short-term. And in that long-term view, we believe this course of action affords us the best opportunity to engage regulators in deep, thoughtful, and productive explorations of the risks and opportunities present in the cryptocurrency market.

BitMEX will not just be the most liquid, innovative place to trade. It will also be one where customers may rest assured – with independent affirmation – that accounts are solvent, settlements are honest, and all participants enjoy the same access and opportunity to Trade More.