Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network has initiated legal action against BitMEX, aiming to recover 6,360 BTC, approximately valued at $495 million, lost during the market downturn in March 2020.
The case targets losses linked to forced liquidations amid the Covid-19 crisis.
The lawsuit, filed on September 12 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, involves the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium as the litigation administrator for Celsius's bankruptcy proceedings. The defendants listed include several BitMEX entities, such as HDR Global Trading and 100x Holdings, operating across various jurisdictions including Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
Celsius asserts that it lost 1,325.84 BTC due to a liquidation event on March 12, 2020, and is also seeking redress for a further 5,034.33 BTC loss incurred by investment fund JST the following day. Both Celsius and JST had positions that were reliant on Bitcoin's value either remaining stable or increasing. The lawsuit contends that BitMEX managed the liquidation processes in a way that ultimately benefited its insurance fund at the expense of customers.
