Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founder Amid Crypto Industry Clemency Wave

Ben Delo, co-founder of crypto trading platform BitMEX, has received a pardon from former US President Donald Trump. The pardon was granted in March 2025, amid a wave of executive clemency grants for those convicted of crimes related to their cryptocurrency activities.

Delo and his two co-founders were fined $10m each and received probationary sentences after pleading guilty in 2022 to failing to implement US anti-money-laundering checks at BitMEX. However, the White House has stated that Delo could not have been expected to understand he was falling foul of evolving cryptocurrency regulations.

The sentencing judge had said that Delo knowingly and wilfully caused BitMEX to violate anti-money laundering rules. But a White House official argued that punishing an emerging industry like crypto in this fashion was wrong, saying 'Punishing an emerging industry like crypto in this fashion was wrong. President Trump is the first pro-crypto president, and this clemency action demonstrates that.'

Delo has since made significant donations to Reform, a British party closely aligned with Trumpism. He has also established a base for his political project in the geographical centre of British politics, and has been described as a venture capitalist for political startups.