Large and small BITMEX traders are withdrawing Bitcoin (BTC) from the exchange at a rapid rate upon news of the trading platform’s legal embroilments.
On Thursday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it is charging five BitMEX operating entities and the crypto trading platform’s three founders, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, with violating multiple CFTC regulations.
The U.S. Department of Justice has also charged the three founders and its head of business development, Gregory Dwyer, with violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
According to Chainalysis chief economist Philip Gradwell, over 40,000 Bitcoin left BitMEX’s exchange less than 24 hours after news of the allegations broke, totaling roughly $440,000,000 in withdrawals.
“Since 17:00 UTC yesterday, 41,838 bitcoin has been withdrawn from BitMEX in 4,547 transfers. Half of the transfers were for 0.25 bitcoin or less, and the largest 1% of transfers accounted for 63% of the bitcoin withdrawn. So Many small traders and a few large players withdrew.”
In a subsequent tweet, Gradwell notes that Chainalysis data shows that 24-hour BTC deposits into the top 15 crypto trading platforms had risen by about 30% while outflows had only increased by a small amount. The Chainalysis chief economist asserts that an overall inclination to hold BTC on these exchanges may indicate that “people are calm after BitMEX charges and sell offs in other markets.”
