[2020-01-28]Four Class-Action Suits Against Bitfinex Over 2017 BTC Price Now One

[bbc.reporter]

I had to rub my eyes and read the highlighted sentences 3 times, I shook my head and rubbed my eyes again before reading it for another time.

In any case, support Bitfinex. We do not have a choice hehehehe.



The four class-action suits against Bitfinex, Tether and parent company iFinex over alleged market manipulation leading to Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2017 bull market have been consolidated — with implications for every BTC buyer since April 2017.

Per an order dated Jan. 24 and filed Jan. 27 from Judge Failla of the court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), four complaints have been consolidated. Plaintiffs Leibowitz, Young, Faubus and Ebanks — as well as assorted sub-listed parties in each of those cases — will now have their cases heard jointly.
 
The class-action suits against iFinex and its daughter companies crypto exchange Bitfinex and stablecoin operator Tether allege that those companies worked together to create Bitcoin’s infamous price bubble at the end of 2017. These complaints followed similar research that appeared this summer.
 
The potential class pool for these cases is massive, potentially including anyone who has bought Bitcoin since April.

Read in full https://cointelegraph.com/news/e-pluribus-unum-four-class-action-suits-against-bitfinex-over-2017-btc-price-now-one

[gentlemand]

Was it started by BFX? Well, we do seem to get rather handy price explosions every time they get into difficulty. If I remember rightly it kicked off at almost the exact same time they lost their banking.

Since the rest of the world took over from then on the rest of the world should be named in the suit as well.

As for Tether, I still haven't seen anything to confirm it's not anything other than what they claim it is. I'm open to being convinced otherwise.

[bbc.reporter]

The lawsuit is isolated to the 2017 incident, however. If they wanted to implicate people from another incident, I reckon the Mtgox bot pump should be the best incident to look. Many of today's famous bitcoin pumper maximalists were buying on 2013 - 2014 hehehe.

[figmentofmyass]

i read through the leibowitz complaint. (yawn!)

i assume they are all pretty similar: bitfinex is supposedly liable for losses traders suffered because they were allegedly operating an unlicensed MSB, laundering money, and engaging in bank/wire fraud.

tbh, i'm not sure what the standards are with these kind of civil statutes. i'm also not sure if the same jurisdictional standards apply as the NYAG case. it was all less than compelling to me, but that's coming from someone who appreciates the wild west crypto economy and rolls his eyes when losing traders cry "market manipulation". i also think one should never have assumed bitfinex/tether---or any exchange---was fully backed to begin with.

much of the complaint was filled with speculation, then they focus on the $850 million shortfall from 2018 and subsequent lack of 1:1 backing for USDT as the "smoking gun".

the thing is, that doesn't prove that USDT was un-backed in 2017, during the period in question. so all in all, i'm not sure how strong these cases really are.

all i'm hoping for are some more gems like this:

[bbc.reporter]

It appears that there is a legal team that an influential bitcoiner has approval for hehe. Was Liebowitz really good in the Kleiman case? Should Bitfinex be worried? I did not follow the Kleiman v. Wright case very closely.



Antonopoulos Writes to Judge Vouching for Law Team Suing Bitfinex for BTC Manipulation

One of the biggest names in crypto has joined in an ongoing argument about who will lead the class-action suit against Bitfinex and its affiliates over alleged market manipulation leading to Bitcoin’s 2017 bull run.

Amid a flurry of filings seeking to lead the class, Andreas Antonopoulos has come out in support of the legal team of Liebowitz, filing an affidavit on Jan. 27 vouching for the expertise of the team — which Antonopoulos has seen in action on the Kleiman v. Wright case.

Liebowitz’s representation includes a laundry list of attorneys from three separate firms, but Antonopoulos specifically commended Kyle Roche of Roche Cyrulnik Freedman as the reason the firm should lead the proceedings. Before calling the firm “uniquely qualified to represent members of the class,” Antonopoulos wrote:

“In the Kleiman matter, Mr. Roche has repeatedly demonstrated an understanding of the technical and functional properties of bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and their underlying cryptographic principles superior to many other attorneys.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/antonopoulos-writes-to-judge-vouching-for-law-team-suing-bitfinex-for-btc-manipulation/amp