Money Grab/Pardon donors and drop cases against friends
Trump pardons BitMEX’s founders and the company itself
On March 27, 2025, Trump pardoned Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed and Gregory Dwyer of the offshore crypto exchange BitMEX. All four had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to put anti-money-laundering controls in place. The pardons came as the Trump family was building its own crypto businesses.
What happened
In 2022 BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, and former business development chief Gregory Dwyer, pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The law requires financial firms to know their customers and report suspicious money. BitMEX was an offshore crypto derivatives exchange, and prosecutors said it operated as a money-laundering platform. The men received probation and fines, and in January 2025 the company itself was fined $100 million.
On March 27, 2025, Trump signed full and unconditional pardons for all four men and for the corporate entity that owned and ran the exchange. The White House did not announce them; CNBC reported them the next day and an official confirmed. Delo called the pardons a vindication and Hayes thanked Trump.
The pardons came two months after Trump pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. They also came as the Trump family was building World Liberty Financial and other crypto businesses. The pardon of the corporate entity came two months after its $100 million fine.
Who benefited
Hayes, Delo, Reed and Dwyer had their federal convictions erased, and BitMEX’s corporate parent was also pardoned. The record attaches no cash value. Hayes remains a prominent crypto investor and commentator whose public backing matters in the industry the Trump family had entered.
Who wanted something
The four men and the exchange each carried a federal conviction. The record does not show payments from them to Trump or his family. It places the pardons within a run of clemency for crypto figures during the year the Trump family launched its own crypto ventures.
Who lost out
Federal prosecutors spent years securing these guilty pleas, and the convictions no longer stand. The Bank Secrecy Act exists so that financial firms cannot serve as channels for criminal money. The $100 million corporate fine was paid two months before the entity was pardoned.
Why it matters
The president erased money-laundering-control convictions for the founders and the corporate owner of a major offshore exchange. His family was at the same time building crypto businesses that need partners, liquidity and allies in that industry. The pardons were signed quietly and confirmed only after a press report.
Sources DecryptReuters via FidelityCNBC via NBC Bay AreaThe Block