Chinese court finds BKEX employees guilty of running illegal cryptocurrency exchanges

A Chinese court has convicted BKEX, a cryptocurrency exchange, of operating an unlawful wagering platform through its contract trading services.

The ongoing assault on cryptocurrency-related activities in China has been underscored by the imprisonment of numerous key employees and agents associated with the exchange.

The People’s Court of Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, ruled on January 29 that BKEX’s contract transactions were a form of online wagering. The exchange permitted users to speculate on the price movements of cryptocurrency using the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to utilize high leverage—up to 1,000x—to increase the potential gains or losses, as per the ruling.

The court determined that BKEX’s strategy, which effectively operated as a casino, violated Chinese laws by encouraging traders to wager on financial outcomes, despite the fact that futures trading is a common financial instrument in crypto markets.

Ji Jiaming, the proprietor of BKEX, established the platform in 2018 through Chengdu Dechen BiKe TianXia Technology Co., according to the judgment. Ji repeatedly altered the company’s registration in order to circumvent regulatory scrutiny before ultimately dissolving it. He formed a partnership with Lei Le in 2021 to develop and promote the perpetual contract trading feature, which became an essential component of BKEX’s operations.

Before the intervention of Chinese authorities, BKEX’s contract trading service had over 270,000 users, including 60,000 active traders, and generated an estimated 54.7 million USDT in profits at its peak.

For their involvement in the facilitation of unlawful wagering on the BKEX platform, the court issued sentences to eight individuals.

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