According to a court filing, former BitMEX CEO Alexander Hoeptner has filed a $3.4 million lawsuit against the cryptocurrency derivatives platform for breach of contract and wrongful termination.
Hoeptner joined the Seychelles-registered exchange in January 2021. At that time, the founders of BitMEX, HDR Global Trading Limited, were accused of facilitating unregistered trading. He was previously reported to have left the company in October 2022, but no further details were provided.
Alexander Hoeptner claims BitMEX owes him $3.4 mln
Hoeptner now claims to have received a letter of termination citing, among other things, misuse of funds and failure to perform duties. According to the court filing, BitMEX owes Hoeptner a total of $3.4 million, including $2.4 million for his second-year bonus and smaller amounts for remaining wages, relocation expenses, and housing. Hoeptner relocated several times as CEO of BitMEX, dividing his time between Hong Kong, Germany, and Singapore.
However, between July and August of 2022, he was informed by the company that he might not receive his second-year bonus or any reimbursement for his relocation. He said it was due to an “extensive cost-cutting and restructuring program that involved numerous layoffs.”
Alexander Hoeptner’s relocation expenses at the time totaled $230,000. He received a termination letter a few weeks later. BitMEX did not immediately respond to an email requesting a comment.
BitMEX reduced its workforce by 30%.
The cryptocurrency exchange recently reduced its workforce by 30%. However, it was an attempt to return to its original focus on derivatives trading. BitMEX’s former CEO, Arthur Hayes, was sentenced to two years of probation earlier this year. He was pleading guilty to charges of willfully failing to implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program at the exchange.
Before joining BitMEX in late 2020. Hoeptner was CEO of the German stock exchange Borse Stuttgart GmbH and liquidity provider Euwax AG. Hoeptner previously stated that BitMEX intended to launch its native token, BMEX, by the end of the year.
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