Arthur Hayes, born in 1985, is an American entrepreneur known for his involvement in the cryptocurrency industry. Here are some key points about his background, education, career, and legal issues. Hayes was born in Detroit, Michigan, to middle-class parents who worked for General Motors. He attended Nichols School in Buffalo, New York, where he excelled academically and in sports, graduating second in his class in 2004. Hayes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, which he earned in 2008. After graduating, Hayes moved to Hong Kong in 2008 to begin his investment banking career. He worked for Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, specializing in equity derivatives trading and serving as the head ETF market maker. In 2013, Hayes co-founded BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange, along with Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. BitMEX became one of the largest virtual currency derivatives exchanges globally, with significant daily trading volume. Hayes made substantial charitable contributions, including a $2.24 million donation to the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars program in 2019 and a $2.5 million donation to COVID-19 relief efforts in 2020. In October 2020, Hayes and his partners were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The charges alleged that BitMEX failed to register in the United States despite having numerous U.S.-based customers and enabling money laundering activities. BitMEX was the first cryptocurrency exchange to be charged under the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires reporting transactions over $10,000 and obtaining Know Your Customer (KYC) information. Hayes stepped down as CEO of BitMEX following the indictment, and Alexander Hoptner replaced him. Arthur Hayes' career trajectory reflects his significant contributions to the cryptocurrency industry, along with the legal challenges he faced due to regulatory issues.
