BitMEX, the Bitcoin futures platform that has caused much controversy since it launched in 2014, has updated its list of jurisdictions, and in the process has blocked users in Seychelles, where the firm is based, Hong Kong, and Bermuda. The company says the action is being taken “proactively” and that it will have “no financial impact on the business and will affect very few people.”
BitMEX Wants to Help Regulators… Apparently
BitMEX announced the move in a press release Monday, in which they also discussed the imminent regulation of the crypto space, something that is “not only to be expected, it is to be welcomed.” BitMEX claims it has “working with regulators to help shape the industry”, a statement that would have Nouriel Roubini spitting out his Coco Pops. BitMEX’s 100x leverage offering, presence in a known regulatory haven, and their not exactly comprehensive attempts to block users from banned countries such as the US would suggest that in fact the opposite is true – that heavy regulation is something that they have been doing much better in the absence of.
BitMEX Embarking on “New and Exciting Era”
BitMEX also takes the opportunity in the press release to advocate the “new and exciting era” in which the platform is entering. This seemingly includes not just banning users from three countries but also extending system and process transparency, illustrating to “third parties” just how safe BitMEX is to trade on and how secure user funds are, and working towards independent audits of the controversial Insurance Fund, which currently holds nearly ₿31,275 worth over $331 million.
To achieve its lofty goals of being “the most liquid, innovative place to trade”, BitMEX claims that it wants to “engage regulators in deep, thoughtful, and productive explorations of the risks and opportunities present in the cryptocurrency market.” As nice as this would be to believe, it does have the whiff of James Bond being invited to a bad guy’s lair only to be told about a dastardly plan and then killed in an unnecessarily long and drawn out way.
