Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, co-founded by former Citigroup trader Arthur Hayes, has recently rented the world’s most expensive offices in Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg report citing the Hong Kong Economic Times.
Per the report, the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX) has rented the 45th floor of the Cheung Kong Center. The skyscraper is home to various top financial services firms, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and billionaire Sir Li Ka-shing’s empire.
The news outlet notes that when it interviewd Hayes earlier this year, BitMEX was in “sparsely-decorated offices in a logistics and warehouse district on the other side of Victoria Harbor.” These rented for about HK $25 $3.18) per square foot, while the exchange’s new offices rent for about HK $225 ($28.66) per square foot.
Renting these expensive offices, it notes, shows that cryptocurrency-related businesses are thriving, despite the market’s decline. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, dropped from a near $20,000 all-time high in mid-December to about $6,690 at press time. The cryptocurrency is up by 3.9% in the last 24-hour period, as it added $400 in about 20 minutes.
Other cryptocurrency exchanges are well off as well. As CryptoGlobe covered cryptocurrency trading revenue is set to double to $4 billion this year. Last year, the total revenue coming in from crypto trading was of $1.8 billion, and crypto exchange Coinbase reportedly enjoyed nearly half of it.
Per Bloomberg, BitMEX initially planned on renting about half of the 45th floor at the Cheung Kong Center, but its expansion plans saw it acquire the about 20,000 square feet. Property prices in the region have been surging in the last few years, as its Central district now has the world’s highest office occupancy costs, according to a survey conducted by the CBRE Group.
BitMEX itself was reportedly founded after Hayes found out he could “make easy money” exploiting arbitrage opportunities in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Since then the company grew to trade a record one million BTC in 24 hours. At press time, it’s daily trading volume is of $3 billion.
In under 1 month, the BitMEX 50x leveraged $ETHUSD swap has become the most liquid Ether / USD product. Come get some!! pic.twitter.com/67WvzTKzgy
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) August 14, 2018
Notably, as CryptoGlobe reported, 18,000 BTC were moved to a BitMEX-linked wallet last week, before the market saw a huge short squeeze after the exchange went into scheduled maintenance this week.
Hayes, the exchange’s CEO, has predicted BTC will hit $50,000 by the end of this year. As for ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency market cap, he predicted its price will drop below $100.
