Arthur Hayes, one of the founders of BitMEX, a derivatives exchange, has said he is prepared to “be more public” about his family office, known as Maelstrom.
in a post on LinkedInHayes said: “You’ll see our chief investment officer, Akshat Vaidya, on the conference globe.” Vaidya worked at BitMEX, a recently troubled company, for just over three years before joining Maelstrom, first as an investment associate, then as a manager, and finally as vice president of corporate development and strategic finance. This was her before she joined Maelstrom.
Along with investors FalconX, Commonwealth, OP Crypto and ChapterOne, Hayes participated in a seed round for Elixir, a decentralized financial system and market maker, raising $2.1 million, the results of which were released in January of this year.
Hayes, who recently predicted a great depression, received six months of home prison for his part in BitMEX, which he was given in May of last year. He said he was “ready to turn the page” on the past in court.
Authorities allege that BitMEX’s lax KYC policies made the business a haven for illegal conduct, including money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Previous charges against Hayes
In October 2020, Hayes, Samuel Reed, Ben Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, the early employees of BitMEX, were charged for the first time with one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and another count of conspiracy to do so.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) launched civil proceedings against the four individuals and BitMEX, among other corporations, resulting in monetary fines. BitMEX was fined $100 million and its owners Hayes, Reed, and Delo had to shell out $10 million each.
Hayes reached a plea deal with prosecutors that reduced the sentencing guidelines from a maximum of five years per felony to six and twelve months. He will serve his term in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Hayes, a US citizen and former resident of Singapore, turned himself in to US authorities in Hawaii in April as part of a deal between his lawyers and federal prosecutors. His mother co-signed a $10 million bond and he was released along with $1 million in cash.
