On March 28, 2025, it was reported that US President Donald Trump pardoned BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, who had pleaded guilty to felony charges related to money laundering.

These co-founders faced charges for not implementing an Anti-Money Laundering program at BitMEX, which prosecutors described as a 'money laundering platform'.

The pardons come after BitMEX was fined $100 million in January 2022 for failing to establish adequate compliance measures under the Bank Secrecy Act.

The decision to grant pardons has raised eyebrows, particularly because there was no public campaign advocating for their release, contrasting with the significant community support seen in the case of Ross Ulbricht.

Before the pardons, the legal ramifications for the founders included significant fines and the potential for prison time, as they were already sentenced to probation and home arrest.

Following the pardons, both Hayes and Delo expressed gratitude on social media, claiming that the pardons vindicated their position that they should not have been criminally charged.

The pardons were signed by Trump on March 27, 2025, without prior public announcement, and at the time, there was no official statement from the White House.

Trump's administration has shown support for the tech and cryptocurrency sectors, with regulators aligned with pro-crypto policies appointed under his leadership.

These pardons reflect Trump's increasing involvement in the cryptocurrency sector, which aligns with his administration's support for pro-crypto policies.

Speculation has arisen about the potential for Trump to consider pardoning other crypto figures, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency industry remains uneasy, with skepticism about future regulatory actions and concerns over the normalization of misconduct.

The crypto community has reacted negatively to the pardons, questioning Trump's motivations and expressing concerns about the implications for industry integrity.