BitMEX CEO Maps Out Future 'Living by the Rules'

Three former executives of BitMEX will face trial in the U.S. next spring, but Alexander Hoeptner, the current CEO, said the company, which operates a crypto peer-to-peer network and a derivatives trading exchange, plans to “live by the rules,” stressing the importance of having “active discussions” with regulators. 

In an interview Wednesday on CoinDesk TV’s "First Mover," when questioned about the future of BitMEX and what the company has learned from past experiences, Hoeptner said he couldn't “go into details on what is happening with U.S. regulators.” 

“Discussions need to be had with regulators about crypto assets and blockchain,” he said. 

“You have to educate the global market on the possibilities, this is something the crypto industry should have taken on themselves,” he said. Regulations imposed in the past no longer “make sense.” 

Hoeptner is also the CEO of 100x Group, which is the holding group for HDR Global Trading Ltd., owner and operator of the BitMEX platform. The platform allows customers to leverage up to 100 times their investment, giving them the opportunity to make a huge profit if the price of the cryptocurrency moves up or lose big if the price drops. 

When asked whether 100x plans to continue offering large leverage opportunities, Hoeptner said that it’s not the dominating feature of the product. 

“On average of what is traded, the leverages are in the single-digit area,” he said. “A very rare and small extent is used at a high leverage.” 

Hoeptner said that entering the U.S. market is not on the horizon and that for now,  the exchange is focusing on “living by the rules." The company is based in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.