Cryptocurrency giant Binance is embroiled in a legal battle in the UK. The exchange faces a hefty lawsuit worth up to £10 billion ($12.8 billion) brought on by BSV Claims, a group representing over 200,000 Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) holders. The lawsuit alleges that Binance and other exchanges like Kraken colluded to delist BSV in 2019, causing its value to plummet.
Binance, however, is not going down without a fight. They have filed a motion with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) aiming to dismiss a significant portion of the lawsuit. Their argument centers around the potential value BSV is claimed to have lost. Binance believes that BSV holders consciously retained their holdings after the delisting and could have chosen to sell them on other platforms.
The lawsuit revolves around the exchanges’ accusations of anti-competitive behavior. BSV Claims contends that the delisting was a coordinated effort that stifled BSV’s growth and resulted in immense financial losses for holders. Binance is specifically contesting the part of the claim that assigns a value of up to £9 billion to BSV’s missed potential as a top-tier cryptocurrency.
The cryptocurrency industry will closely watch the outcome of this case.
A win for BSV Claims could set a precedent for future lawsuits against exchanges for delisting actions. Conversely, a win for Binance could solidify an exchange’s right to delist currencies based on internal assessments.
While the legal wrangling continues, it’s important to note that this is just the initial phase. The CAT will decide whether to dismiss the contested portion of the lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed with the remaining claims.
