BitMex: An American Crypto Clash of Class, Race, & Leadership
American government prosecution of blockchain firms may devalue US executives and workers' leadership in the crypto business space, and diminish the United States as a global technology leader in the long run.
Facing 10-year maximum prison sentences for breaking US regulation laws, two American and two international crypto company founders stepped down from their startup roles at BitMEX yesterday. The two Americans departing BitMEX. The two others taking diminished roles. This is at least the second time an American founded and helmed crypto startup company has resulted in its leadership departing a global crypto company in the face of American charges, yet the companies themselves remain in operation globally under non-US leadership.
BitFinex DeJa Vu with a Twist of Racism
“I think the closest thing … would be BitFinex which was operating legally in the EU, then entered the US, then exited the US. They also provided margin… [T]hey also eventually had their key US people step down… So, yeah, I think I’d compare this to BitFinex,” Rick Dudley, President of Vulcanize, a blockchain development company, said in a Black People & Cryptocurrency discussion thread about the resignations.
In 2018, US executive Philip G. Potter stepped down from his roles at BitFinex and…