Alexander Höptner Steps Down as BitMEX CEO After About 2 Years

Alexander Höptner, the Chief Executive Officer of cryptocurrency exchange BitMex who was appointed two years ago is now stepping down from his position with immediate effect. Consequently, the Chief Financial Officer of the exchange Stephan Lutz will take over as interim CEO while still operating in the office of a CFO. 

“Together with the rest of the management team and our talented staff members, I will make sure that BitMex continues to deliver great, innovative crypto trading products and a secure and stable trading environment for our clients,” Lutz said in the emailed statement. “We want to thank Alexander for his support to the business during his tenure and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Höptner’s Meritorious Service to BitMex

Markedly, Höptner joined BitMex in January 2021 as a replacement for Arthur Hayes after he was appointed to hold the position in December 2020. Arthur Hayes exited the derivative exchange owing to the burden of legal troubles against him and other firm founders. 

Höptner was previously the CEO of the German stock exchange Borse Stuttgart GmbH and liquidity provider Euwax AG. Noteworthy, was pivotal to the launch of Bison, a crypto trading subsidiary of Börse Stuttgart.

Under Höptner’s leadership, BitMex made significant growth including the launch of its first spot trading which accommodated seven pairs of digital assets; Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH,) Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI), Polygon (MATIC), Axie Infinity (AXS), and ApeCoin (APE) all traded against the United States dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT).

Also during his tenure as CEO, the exchange successfully restricted the activities of Russians on its platform in compliance with the European Union (EU) sanctions against the beleaguered nation that declared war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, he also mentioned BitMex’s plan to roll out its native token, BMEX, by the end of the year. 

Lutz who is now standing in as CEO and taking over from Höptner has served as the CFO of BitMex for one and a half years.

Before BitMex, Lutz used to be a partner at auditing and consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. He joined the firm about three months after Höptner. Lutz is recognized to possess skills like strategic planning, and treasury management.