Chinese court has ruled that BKEX, a crypto exchange, 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.
China convicts BKEX staff for illegal gambling via crypto contracts. Source: XCourt Declares BKEX’s Crypto Trading Platform a Gambling Operation
The People’s Court of Pingjiang County in Hunan Province issued the ruling on Jan. 29. The court found that BKEX’s contract trading functioned as a form of online gambling. Under Chinese law, this activity was classified as “opening a casino,” which is a criminal offense.
BKEX allowed users to bet on cryptocurrency price movements using USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Users could apply high leverage—up to 1,000 times their initial investment—to speculate on the price of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other digital assets. The court ruled that this type of trading amounted to illegal gambling because it involved gathering users to place bets on financial outcomes.
BKEX’s Expansion Before Government Crackdown
BKEX was founded in 2018 by Ji Jiaming through Chengdu Dechen BiKe TianXia Technology Co. To avoid regulatory scrutiny, Ji repeatedly changed the company’s registration details before eventually dissolving it. In 2021, he partnered with Lei Le to further develop and promote the platform’s perpetual contract trading feature, which became a core part of BKEX’s operations.
Before authorities intervened, BKEX had grown significantly, attracting over 270,000 registered users, including 60,000 active traders. The platform generated more than 54.7 million USDT in profit, making it one of the more prominent crypto trading platforms in China.
BKEX Employees Receive Prison Sentences in China
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 to an illegal gambling operation. The court sentenced him to two years and one month in prison and imposed a fine of 150,000 yuan ($20,900). Additionally, authorities confiscated his earnings, which amounted to 1.34 million yuan ($186,600).
Another employee, identified as Wang, was responsible for KYC verification and transaction processing at BKEX. The court sentenced him to one year and 11 months in prison and issued a fine of 52,000 yuan ($7,250).
Dong, an agent who helped recruit users by distributing QR codes and referral links, was also convicted. He had earned commissions of $33,558 from his activities on BKEX. The court sentenced him to one year and six months in prison, but the sentence was suspended. He was also fined 35,000 yuan ($4,880), and authorities confiscated 223,000 yuan ($31,000) from his earnings.
China’s Strict Crackdown on Crypto Trading
The ruling is part of China’s ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities. The Chinese government has long considered cryptocurrencies a threat to financial stability and has taken several steps to restrict their use.
In 2013, China banned banks from handling cryptocurrency transactions. In 2017, it extended the restrictions by prohibiting initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto exchanges. Chinese authorities intensified the crackdown in 2021, targeting both cryptocurrency trading and mining operations.
The post China Sentences BKEX Employees for Running Illegal Crypto Gambling Operation appeared first on Coinchapter.
