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Presidential Clemency Record

Arthur Hayes

Pardon

  /   2025–Present

Record at a Glance

Clemency type
Pardon
Presidential term
2025–Present
Federal district
Southern District of New York
Offense
Violation of the Bank Secrecy Act
Sentence
Two years' probation, conditioned upon six months' home confinement (May 20, 2022)
Current status
BitMEX confirmed that exchange trading ceased September 23, 2026 and account access remained available for withdrawals and wind-down matters. This company announcement does not establish a current individual executive role or alter the separate federal pardon.

Original Case

Arthur Hayes co-founded and served as chief executive of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that served thousands of U.S. customers while publicly claiming otherwise. Hayes admitted that from 2015 to 2020 he willfully failed to create required anti-money-laundering and customer-identification programs, even after learning that hacked cryptocurrency proceeds may have moved through the platform. He pleaded guilty to one Bank Secrecy Act count and received two years of probation, including six months of home detention, plus a $10 million criminal fine.

Clemency

Trump granted Hayes a full and unconditional pardon on March 27, 2025. Hayes had completed the home-detention portion of his probationary sentence; the pardon relieved remaining federal consequences of the conviction but did not itself disturb separate civil regulatory orders involving BitMEX.

Trump Connection

Hayes received clemency on the same day as BitMEX co-founders Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, with all three Bank Secrecy Act cases covered. No public clemency document identifies a personal, campaign, or business relationship with Trump, an advocate, or an individualized rationale. The coordinated grants are documented; a private route to the decision is not.

Since Clemency

  • 2026-09-23 · related company development

    BitMEX confirmed that its exchange stopped trading on September 23, 2026, following a board decision announced in July. Account access continued for withdrawals and wind-down matters.

    Legal Status: Company business development; the announcement does not establish any individual's current management role, a new charge, or a change to the separate presidential pardon.

Sources

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