March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has

pardoned the three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange

BitMEX, a White House official said on Friday.

CNBC was the first to report earlier in the day that on

Thursday, Trump granted pardons to Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes

and Samuel Reed, who had pled guilty to money-laundering

charges.

The pardons come at a time of optimism in the crypto

industry about looser regulation under Trump, who courted crypto

donors during his campaign and promised support.

Prosecutors accused BitMEX and founders Delo, Hayes and Reed

of willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act between 2015 and

2020 by failing to adopt anti-money-laundering and "know your

customer" programs, Reuters reported in January.

BitMEX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

The president has also pardoned Trevor Milton, founder of

bankrupt electric and hydrogen-powered truckmaker Nikola ( NKLAQ )

, who was convicted of fraud.