Arthur Hayes, one of the founders of crypto exchange BitMEX, avoided jail time Friday during his sentencing hearing in New York.

Hayes was handed a sentence of six months of home detention as part of a two-year probationary period. He had previously pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

"I'm ready to turn the page," Hayes said before the sentencing hearing. A representative for Hayes declined to comment following the hearing's conclusion.

The prosecution had asked for sentencing above the 6-12 months that normal guidelines recommend.

“Hayes profited greatly from BitMEX, personally earning over one hundred million dollars, while willfully and continuously operating the Company in violation of the BSA, by failing to implement an anti-money laundering ("AML") program,” the prosecution wrote in a May 9 letter to the court.

Hayes, for his part, asked the court to give him probation with the option to travel in the lead up to sentencing. When the DOJ unveiled its initial case, Hayes, an American national, was living in Singapore. From there, his legal team negotiated his return to the US.

Hayes’s case has been the subject of enormous interest from the crypto industry since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice filed joint civil and criminal enforcement actions against BitMEX and its executives near the end of 2020.