Crypto platform has not paid a $2.7 million fine levied by regulator, which also fined Su Zhu, Kyle Davies, Mark Lamb, Leslie Lamb, the chief executive of Opnx, and $54,451 apiece.
Open Technology Markets (doing business as Opnx), a digital asset exchange, was fined Dh10 million ($2.7 million) by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for breaking regulations governing marketing, advertising, and promotions.
According to the emirate’s virtual asset regulator, the fine for the market offense on May 2 is still outstanding.
The creators of the unsuccessful cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital are connected to the exchange.
The founders of Opnx, Kyle Davies, Su Zhu, Mark Lamb, and the company’s CEO, Leslie Lamb, have all been fined Dh200,000 ($54,451) each.
The creators of Three Arrows Capital, Mr. Davies and Mr. Zhu, filed for bankruptcy last year as the value of Bitcoin fell and the UST stablecoin lost its peg to the US dollar. The agency just imposed the largest fines to date.
According to proper governance criteria, the grievance committee at Vara was referred all of the fines mentioned above. The committee examined the grievance referral and found that the enforcement actions taken should be upheld entirely, according to the regulator.
Vara will decide whether additional fines, penalties, or other actions are warranted against Opnx in order to recover payment and completely correct the behavior. These actions may include, but are not limited to, relating the matter to any law enforcement agency (ies) or competent the courts.
In March 2022, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, formed Vara in accordance with the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, the emirate’s first statute of its type.
It intends to provide a cutting-edge legal framework to safeguard investors and offer global guidelines for the regulation of the virtual asset market to promote responsible corporate expansion.
Opnx is a public marketplace for trading derivatives and crypto claims that was introduced in March. It is advertised as a marketplace for trading cryptocurrency claims linked to failed digital asset companies.
2022 was a difficult year for the cryptocurrency industry due to business failures and cybercrimes that hurt the value of digital assets and investor enthusiasm.
The collapse of FTX, which declared bankruptcy in November, was the occurrence that garnered the greatest attention. That came after the demise of the Luna cryptocurrency and the Terra stableco that it was linked to in May of last year.
The parent company of the bitcoin lending business Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Global Holdco, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in January of this year.