Alexander Höptner was leading the Börse Stuttgart when he jumped at the chance to take a top job with BitMEX, a pioneering cryptocurrency exchange known for its high-risk offerings. Just a few months later, the people who hired him found themselves fugitives wanted by the U.S. government. Federal prosecutors in New York charged outspoken co-founder Arthur Hayes and other senior officers at the company with failing to deploy an adequate anti-money laundering operation at the derivatives trading platform. Hayes, along with fellow owners and co-founders, resigned from his day-to-day leadership duty at the exchange’s holding company.
Now Höptner is tasked with steering BitMEX out of its biggest-ever crisis and transforming a renegade crypto startup into something much more staid. His goal: amend relationships with global regulators while also expanding businesses ranging from spot trading to brokerage and custody services.
