Nouriel Roubini Ramps Up Campaign Against Crypto Exchange BitMEX

Nouriel Roubini, a well-known critic of cryptocurrencies, just escalated his debate with BitMEX’s Chief Executive Officer Arthur Hayes, posting a report that suggests Hayes’s exchange “may be openly involved in systematic illegality.”

Roubini, a professor of economics at the Stern School of Business, said BitMEX lets traders take on too much risk, allowing them to leverage bets to 100 times the amount of funds they put down. He cited estimates in an anonymous blogger’s widely read post on Medium last year that liquidations may, at times, account for a significant share of BitMEX’s revenue. He also pointed to the blogger’s claim that BitMEX trades against clients. And Roubini said the exchange “skirts” regulations designed to stop money laundering.