Former head of BitMEX crypto exchange may get a year in prison

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes will be sentenced today in a New York federal court after pleading guilty in February to charges of willfully failing to implement the exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) program.

Prosecutors say that the lack of know-your-customer (KYC) requirements at BitMEX allowed the company to thrive as a hotbed of criminal activity, including money laundering and sanctions evasion.

The criminal charges carry a maximum sentence of five years each, but Hayes' plea agreement with prosecutors reduced the sentence to six to twelve months.

As a reminder, Hayes' fans and his mother had previously asked the court to limit the sentence to a non-prison term.