Popular digital currency trading platform BitMEX has added three countries to its list of banned jurisdictions. Users in Hong Kong, the Seychelles, and Bermuda will no longer be able to access the exchange.

The three nations blocked from using the exchange are all locations in which the BitMEX company has offices. A post on the BitMEX blog states that the move is a proactive one and is not based on pressure from any regulatory body.

“… we have decided to restrict access to BitMEX for users in the jurisdictions in which HDR-affiliated employees and offices are located… This change will have no financial impact on the business and will affect very few people.”

A Handful of Banned Territories

Hong Kong, the Seychelles, and Bermuda will join the US, Cuba, Crimea and Sevastopol, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, and the province of Québec, Canada in being restricted from using the exchange.

The post also details the increased interest regulators have taken in the industry over the last few years and confirms the company’s commitment to working with them. The digital currency exchange writes:

“The increased involvement of regulators with all the major players in the industry is not only to be expected, it is to be welcomed. It is the mission of good regulators to ensure that honest citizens are not being cheated.”

The post also details ways in which the company is working to improve transparency, security, and auditing across its platform.

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How Truly Banned Are BitMEX Customers?

The move comes just weeks after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission launched a three-month investigation into BitMEX. The regulator has reason to believe that US customers had been accessing the exchange despite being banned from using it.

More recently, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against one of the company’s advertisements. The ad itself was printed in UK newspapers in January. It featured a graph showing Bitcoin’s performance versus the US dollar over the last ten years.

The agency agreed with the four individuals complaining about the advertisement, stating that it gave an unrealistic idea of the potential return on investment from buying and holding Bitcoin. BitMEX responded by saying that it was part of a broader campaign commemorating the launch of the Bitcoin network.

What do you think about BitMEX banning users based in these three countries? Do you think it will put the exchange in a better position when dealing with regulators?

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