BitMEX closes more US and Canadian accounts amid regulatory pressure

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has closed more accounts from the US and Québec amid increasing regulatory pressure, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

The development comes after global regulators have intensified their crackdown on unlicensed cryptocurrency trading platforms.

BitMEX has also issued a warning to users in North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Sevastopol in the Crimea against holding or trading on BitMEX because they fall under the category of restricted jurisdictions.

Québec-based accounts first began closing in early 2018 after the province’s financial regulator, the Autorité des marché financiers (AMF), sent a letter to BitMEX stating the exchange was not authorised to provide trading services in the province. BitMEX was asked to close any accounts linked to users in Québec.

The director of media relations for the AMF spoke to the South China Morning Post, stating: “BitMEX is not registered with the AMF and is therefore not authorised to have activities in the province of Québec. We informed the company that its activities were illegal.”

BitMEX has banned all US Traders since 2015 and have been “proactively closing accounts since guidance was obtained by US regulators, in particular the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).”

In the terms and conditions on the BitMEX website, it states that “residents of the United States of America or Québec (Canada) are prohibited from holding positions or entering into contracts at BitMEX.”

The exchange also state that they have always retained the rights to close any accounts and to liquidate any open positions where any BitMEX trading participants has given false representations as to their location or place of residence.

It was only a few months ago that Tone Vays, a prominent cryptocurrency influencer, had his BitMEX account closed following suspicions of being a US citizen. Vays had an affiliate link through which traders could sign up. He had over 900 people accounting for half of his income. However, after his account was closed, he lost all of it.

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