BitMEX and Human Rights Foundation Donate $150K to Bitcoin Scaling Researcher

BitMEX announced a $100,000 grant for the Korean-based Bitcoin scaling researcher – Calvin Kim. Furthermore, the crypto derivatives exchange informed about an additional $50,000 donation from its partner – the Human Rights Foundation.

BitMEX’s $150K Renewal

In a recent statement, the popular Bitcoin derivatives trading venue BitMEX announced it had renewed Calvin Kim’s developer grant until June 2022, supporting him with an additional $100,000. In August 2020, the exchange provided the Korean with $30,000. Moreover, the Human Rights Foundation – a partner of BitMEX – will join along this time with a donation of $50,000 to Kim.

Alex Höptner – CEO of BitMEX – touched upon the collaboration with the Human Rights Foundation and highlighted the significance of Calvin Kim’s job:

”We are delighted to extend our financial support for Calvin for another year. In particular, we are pleased to support a Korean developer such as Calvin, as ensuring the geographic diversity of Bitcoin development is an important factor to consider. Working with an organization such as the Human Rights Foundation is also something we are proud of.”

In his turn, the Korean developer asserted that these funds would provide him with financial stability and allow him to focus on his main goal:

”My sincere thanks to both BitMEX and the Human Rights Foundation for allowing me to continue working on the Utreexo Project without having to worry about finances.”

Kim has been working on Utreexo – a Bitcoin scaling solution and hash accumulator – since mid-2019. He plans to put it into action to improve the initial block download time in the primary cryptocurrency network for his future endeavors.

Former BitMEX Executives to Face Trials

Last year, US officials accused the former CEO of the company Arthur Hayes, the co-founder Benjamin Delo, and the chief technology officer Samuel Reed of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and served them with money-laundering charges.

Even though the company’s headquarters are in the Seychelles, the US Department of Justice accused BitMEX of failing to apply anti-money laundering procedures while doing business with US-based customers.

Interestingly, Hayes said that the exotic island was a more convenient place for business as it was much easier to bribe Seychelles’ authorities than those in the US.

On May 11th, 2021 – months after the first accusations – New York District Judge John Koeltl set the trial date for March 28th, 2022. The former executives could face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.