Crypto analyst Tone Vays has BitMEX trading account terminated

Tone Vays has had his BitMEX trading account terminated on suspicion of being a US citizen.

The New York-based analyst, who worked on Wall Street for 10 years before making the transition into the cryptocurrency space, regularly hosts analysis-based live streams on YouTube.

Last month, he announced that he was entering his first Bitcoin trade of the year, going short on BitMEX. That trade now seems like it may also be his last.

On Twitter he wrote: “Just got my Bitmex account terminated on suspicion of being a US Citizen. Anyone else find the timing of this odd? The 900+ affiliates that accounted for half my income r gone going forward. After #Unconfiscatable Conf expect prices on all services offered by me to rise.”

He has openly shared his affiliate link for the exchange, which forbids traders from the US, and has since earned Bitcoin from his 900+ affiliate sign ups.

Users of BitMEX from the US have been using VPN’s to hide their IP address while trading, but that could be coming to an end in light of the decision to terminate Vay’s account.

In September 2015 the CFTC announced that Bitcoin options platform Coinflip would cease trading as a result of not registering the platform with regulatory bodies.

Aitan Goelman, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, said: “While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following the same rules applicable to all participants in the commodity derivatives markets.”

To avoid a similar punishment, BitMEX and other leading cryptocurrency exchanges have steered away from offering registrations to US customers.

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