Alexander Höptner, the CEO who was recruited to rescue the BitMEX exchange when Arthur Hayes was under research by US market regulators has announced, effective immediately, its resignation from the stock market.

First reported by The Block, leadership of the exchange has been handed over to CFO Stephan Lutz, a veteran who joined the exchange as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and took over as CFO in May 2021.

“Stephan Lutz has been appointed interim CEO of BitMex after Alexander Höptner left our business effective immediately,” a BitMex spokesperson said in a statement, “Stephan will continue to serve as our CFO, a position he has held since May 2021. .”

Höptner took over as CEO in January 2021 at a time when the exchange needed enough stability and a break from the legal onslaught US regulators launched on its derivatives. Based on his experiences with Börse Stuttgart, Deutsche Börse AG and led Euwax AG, Höptner undertook to shift the primary focus from derivatives trading to other products.

This push paid off under his tenure as BitMEX. launched his spot trading team back in May. With so many big shoes to step into, Lutz has also expressed optimism that he will help fuel the growth of the trading platform and, with over a year of experience, he can be considered a good fit for the role.

“Together with the rest of the management team and our talented staff, I will ensure that BitMex continues to provide excellent and innovative crypto trading products and a safe and stable trading environment for our clients,” Lutz said in the emailed statement. “We want to thank Alexander for his support of the company during his tenure and wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

Exchanges have continued to lose their top executives as teams including kraken, FTXand NYDIG have seen the exodus from the top this crypto winter.

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