Binance Requests Dismissal of Major Claims in UK Bitcoin SV Case

By: Isha Das

Binance has moved to dismiss the majority of claims in a UK lawsuit concerning the delisting of Bitcoin SV (BSV), a move reported by Reuters on June 5. The case also implicates key cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken, Shapeshift, and Bittylicious as defendants. During a tribunal session, six firms related to these exchanges attended with their legal teams.

Binance aimed to dismiss the portion of the case that asserted BSV had the potential to become a significant cryptocurrency. Binance's legal counsel, Brian Kennelly, argued that BSV investors were not compelled to retain their holdings during the delisting and could have exchanged them for other assets.

Despite Binance's challenge, neither it nor any of the other companies object to the case being certified under the UK's collective proceedings regime, potentially leading the case to trial.

Billions at Stake

The primary focus of Binance's dismissal attempt is the bulk of the claimed damages — £9 billion out of £10 billion GBP, equivalent to $11.5 billion out of a total $12.8 billion. The plaintiff, BSV Claims Ltd, initially alleged in a statement that the exchanges colluded to harm BSV's future by delisting it, notably using public platforms like Twitter to coordinate their actions.

This collusion reportedly resulted in BSV's value plummeting and deprived investors of the chance to withdraw their assets in a timely manner. Forced conversions are also cited as a factor in investor losses. The entire debacle is alleged to have violated the UK's Competition Act of 1998 and affects about 240,000 UK investors.

Reasons for Delisting

Back in April 2019, the exchanges in question collectively chose to delist BSV. This decision coincided with Bitcoin SV’s leader Craig Wright—who claims to be the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto—beginning a series of lawsuits to assert his identity.

Binance provided general justifications at the time but did not detail them extensively. Notably, just a day before the delisting announcement, Binance's former CEO Changpeng Zhao publicly questioned Wright’s bold claims.

Following Binance, exchanges like Shapeshift and Bittylicious delisted BSV as well, citing Binance's influence. In particular, Shapeshift referenced a tweet by its CEO, Erik Voorhees, while Bittylicious did the same in their tweets.

Kraken had a similar rationale for delisting BSV, pointing to threats and legal pressure from the BSV team. Notably, it also highlighted the support from 70,000 users in a poll that reportedly is central evidence in the current legal proceedings.