Less than two years into his employment with Bitmex, Alexander Höptner has decided to resign as CEO of the company.
One of the first exchanges to sell crypto derivatives was Bitmex, which was established in 2014. Since then, it has fought a number of legal fights.
In January 2021, Höptner began working at Bitmex. He formerly held positions at Deutsche Börse AG, Börse Stuttgart, and Euwax AG. He also had a part in the development of Bison, Börse Stuttgart’s crypto trading subsidiary. He said after being hired that he intended to use his prior expertise in creating a regulated digital asset venue to enable Bitmex to carry out a worldwide goal.
Legal issues with Bitmex
Höptner succeeded Vivien Khoo, who had been named temporary CEO by Bitmex’s parent company, the 100x Group after co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes was forced to resign due to legal action from the Department of Justice and Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Hayes was sentenced to six months of home confinement as part of a two-year probationary period in May after entering a guilty plea to breaching the BSA.
The exchange eliminated about 75 positions at the same time after giving up efforts to buy the German bank Bankhaus von der Heydt.
Decreased market share
In the past, Bitmex was regarded as a pioneer in bitcoin derivatives. The CME Group and other traditional market operators are currently stealing their market share from cryptocurrency firms like FTX and Coinbase.
The exchange had been working to expand its services to include spot trading, brokerage, and custody as part of a “beyond derivatives” plan. The exchange opened a spot market in May.
Höptner’s departure occurs at a time when the industry as a whole is seeing an executive exodus. Leading cryptocurrency companies like FTX, NYDIG, OpenSea, and Genesis have lost several of their senior executives. Additionally, industry-wide layoffs have occurred at businesses including GSR, Crypto.com, and Coinbase.
