Binance responds to a $13 billion lawsuit and wants to reduce its size in the UK legal battle
Reuters reports that Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its intention to dismiss most of a £10 billion ($12.8 billion) lawsuit that was filed in London.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) is now hearing a case that claims Binance and other exchanges involved in a conspiracy to “delist” the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) coin.
More than 200,000 BSV coin holders have filed a lawsuit accusing Binance and other exchanges of “anti-competitive activity” in their 2019 decision to delist the BSV token.
The claim may be worth up to £9 billion, according to lawyers for BSV Claims, the corporation bringing the lawsuit. They argue that the delisting significantly reduced BSV’s value and prevented it from becoming a “top tier” cryptocurrency.
Binance has asked the CAT to dismiss the portion of the complaint concerning BSV’s purported potential as a significant cryptocurrency, but the exchange has not contested the case’s certification under the UK’s collective procedures framework. This specific element of the lawsuit pertains to those who held onto their BSV assets after its delisting.
According to Brian Kennelly, Binance’s legal counsel, those who are holding BSV could have easily sold it and invested in similar cryptocurrencies as it was “a free choice” on their part. But the attorneys for BSV Claims argued that the matter should go to trial with the remainder of the case.
Binance did not want to comment on the lawsuit when Reuters asked for their opinion. Kraken is another exchange that is cited in the case; a representative from that company called the allegations “baseless.”
According to the article, certain exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, delisted BSV in 2019 due in part to claims made by Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who went under the moniker “Satoshi Nakamoto.”
Wright lied and used forgeries to bolster his baseless allegation in another court case earlier this year. Wright has already stated his desire to challenge the decision via an appeal.
The verdict in the case may have repercussions for Binance, the other exchanges, and the cryptocurrency market as a whole. All parties involved will be keeping a careful eye on the progress of the case and the rulings handed down by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The native token of the exchange, BNB, has surged 17% in the last seven days to hit the $715 mark, and it is now trading around $700 as of this writing. The most recent peak signifies a fresh record high for the BNB cryptocurrency.
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