A Chinese court has ruled that cryptocurrency exchange BKEX engaged in illegal gambling through its contract trading platform. Several employees and agents have been sentenced to prison for their roles in facilitating unauthorized betting.
Court Declares BKEX’s Contract Trading Illegal
On January 29, the People’s Court of Pingjiang County in Hunan Province determined that BKEX’s contract transactions functioned as online gambling. As a result, those involved were found guilty of “opening a casino.”
BKEX allowed users to place bets using USDt, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The platform also offered high leverage—up to 1,000x in some cases—enabling traders to wager on the price fluctuations of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies.
Futures trading, which allows investors to speculate on price movements using leverage, is a common practice in the financial world. However, the court ruled that BKEX’s operations amounted to illegal gambling under Chinese law, as they encouraged users to place bets on financial outcomes.
BKEX’s Expansion and Crackdown
Ji Jiaming, the founder of BKEX, launched the exchange in 2018 through Chengdu Dechen BiKe TianXia Technology. He frequently changed the company’s registration to avoid regulatory scrutiny before ultimately dissolving it. In 2021, he teamed up with Lei Le to develop and promote perpetual contract trading, which became a core component of BKEX’s business.
BKEX’s contract trading gained significant traction, attracting more than 270,000 users, including 60,000 active traders. Before authorities intervened, the platform had generated over 54.7 million USDT in profit.
Employees and Agents Receive Prison Sentences
Eight individuals faced criminal charges for their involvement with BKEX.
- Zheng Lei, a former wallet engineer and department head, was convicted of providing technical support for illegal gambling. He received a prison sentence of two years and one month, along with a fine of 150,000 yuan ($20,900). Authorities confiscated his earnings of 1.34 million yuan ($186,600).
- Wang, the head of BKEX’s audit department, was in charge of KYC verification and transaction processing. He was sentenced to one year and 11 months in prison and fined 52,000 yuan ($7,250).
- Dong, an agent who recruited users through QR codes and referral links, earned $33,558 in commissions. He received a suspended prison sentence of one year and six months, along with a fine of 35,000 yuan ($4,880). Authorities also confiscated his earnings of 223,000 yuan ($31,000).
This ruling is part of China’s broader crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities, which the government views as a threat to financial stability. China has implemented several bans on crypto over the years, including prohibiting banks from handling crypto in 2013, banning ICOs and exchanges in 2017, and cracking down on trading and mining in 2021.
