BitMEX Donates to the Gates Foundation, Faces Backlash

BitMEX has announced it will be donating $2.5M to the Gates Foundation and other institutions. However, the responses have been overwhelmingly negative. Bill Gates’ reputation seems to be held in low regard among those who use BitMEX.

A Donation Faces Backlash

According to BitMEX’s official channels, the exchange has put aside $2.5M for a few charities and organizations. The Gates Foundation, Open Mined, Our World in Data, and NTI will all be receiving funds.

As part of our commitment to grantmaking and to support the global effort to respond to the #COVID19 pandemic, we have awarded a total of US$2.5 million to @gatesfoundation Philanthropy Partners, @NTI_WMD, @openminedorg and @OurWorldInData. More info at https://t.co/wqs9OP6Ow3

— BitMEX (@BitMEX) April 20, 2020

However, the responses were surprisingly negative. Many took issue with the Gates Foundation donation especially. There have been some conspiracies floating around about Bill Gates and his malicious global plans. BeInCrypto will not comment on these accusations, but the response from the community has been overwhelmingly negative towards the donation.

Oh so now Bitmex is supporting chips and ID2020… smh 🤦‍♂️

— Wolfhodl Ⓥ (@WolfHodl) April 20, 2020

Disgusting, I’ve never used shitmex and now I still won’t

— CryptoMutant (@CryptoMutant) April 20, 2020

Others mocked the conspiracy-minded thinking present in the replies. Many seem to genuinely believe Gates is trying to vaccinate the world as part of a grand plan to install microchips in people’s brains.

But sir, the Gates Foundation started Covid-19!

— Sassy (@wadyatalkinabwt) April 20, 2020

BitMEX: Not What It Once Was?

BitMEX has seen some of its volume decline compared to its competitors. Although once dominating Bitcoin futures, it has fallen behind as of last month to competitors like Huobi and Binance. It is now the fourth-largest by trading volume. On top of this, BitMEX has faced criticism for exasperating the 50% drop on March 12. Users noticed that the free-fall only really stopped when the exchange went under maintenance, allegedly. The drop in popularity has caused BitMEX to cut the BTC it holds by 25% after users experienced mass liquidations in March. The CEO of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, has also been outspoken—which has garnered controversy. Repeatedly, he has called Ripple’s XRP a ‘turd’ on Twitter. This happened around the same time that XRP flash-crashed on BitMEX to a low of $0.15.  He recently commented on BitMEX’s donations and praised it for trying to do good, despite the backlash.

Doing our small part to help solve this shit, so we can see each other in real life sometime in the near future. Stay safe yall. https://t.co/B6K5E34OYs

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) April 20, 2020

Signs suggest that BItMEX’s reputation is on the decline among users. Regardless of whether or not the Gates Foundation donation was appropriate, it does not appear to have done BitMEX any favors.