Trump pardoned BitMEX co-founders, White House official says

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned the three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, a White House official said on Friday.

CNBC was the first to report earlier in the day that on Thursday, Trump granted pardons to Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed, who had pled guilty to money-laundering charges. The pardons come at a time of optimism in the crypto industry about looser regulation under Trump, who courted crypto donors during his campaign and promised support. Prosecutors accused BitMEX and founders Delo, Hayes and Reed of willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act between 2015 and 2020 by failing to adopt anti-money-laundering and "know your customer" programs, Reuters reported in January.



BitMEX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The president has also pardoned Trevor Milton, founder of bankrupt electric and hydrogen-powered truckmaker Nikola, who was convicted of fraud. (Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai).