'It is treated like any other account:' BitMEX CEO defends his firm's secretive trading desk

BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has responded to criticisms of its secretive trading desk in an interview with Yahoo Finance's Oscar Williams-Grut. The world's biggest crypto exchange "doesn’t offer 'special access to anyone,' doesn’t trade against its customers, and doesn’t make money when customer trades are liquidated," Hayes told Yahoo Finance.

"They are a customer too," Hayes said, referring to the firm's market-making desk. "It is treated like any other account."

Hayes responded to criticisms from anonymous researcher Hasu. In a Medium post, Hasu claimed the exchange trades against its clients and makes money when it liquidates client positions. Hayes denied Hasu's allegation, stating that the market-making desk is "completely secluded from the rest of the employees."

Founded in 2014, BitMEX is known for its futures contracts and high trading volumes. On its best day in 2018, it saw daily volumes hit $8 billion. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

With contributions from Frank Chaparro.