TechFlame reports that in March of this year, BitMEX founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed, and Ben Delo, as well as BitMEX, the first company in history, were pardoned by US President Donald Trump. Hardly anyone can deny that during Trump's administration, getting involved in cryptocurrency seemed beneficial to criminals — Howard Lutnick called Trump the “crypto president,” and some people involved in “boosting shipments” and scams were even invited to dinner at the White House. However, perhaps more important to BitMEX and its founders was the money they invested in lobbying for two consecutive years. HDR Global Trading (BitMEX's company name) paid lobbying and consulting firm Edelman nearly $800,000 between 2019 and 2021, according to OpenSecrets. Documents show that from August 2019 to March 2021, Edelman was paid more than $50,000 a month, and its consulting work covered everything from how to properly implement “know your customer” (KYC) measures to routine crisis management.