UK Court Hands a Major LL to Bitcoin SV Investors: Binance Laughs

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In an extraordinary twist that could only happen in the mad world of cryptocurrency, the United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal decided to partially throw out a lawsuit brought by Bitcoin SV (BSV) investors against Binance, one of the big crypto exchange giants. These investors had alleged a nefarious plot to delist BSV back in 2019, depriving them of their chance to hit the jackpot. Spoiler: the court wasn’t buying it. 🤑

On May 21, in a decision that surely left the plaintiffs shaking their heads in disbelief, the court ruled that investors who held BSV during its delisting period (referred to as “sub-class B”) were not entitled to billions in speculative damages. Because, you know, the whole “BSV was going to the moon” thing turned out to be a little, shall we say, unrealistic? 💀

These starry-eyed investors had claimed over 8.9 billion British pounds ($11.9 billion) in damages. Their argument? Binance’s delisting allegedly robbed them of the opportunity to profit from BSV’s mythical rise to the ranks of top-tier cryptos, like Bitcoin (BTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Talk about getting carried away by the hype! 🎢

The court, however, rejected this lofty theory, with the judge pointing out that “BSV was obviously not a unique cryptocurrency without reasonably similar substitutes.” A bit of a reality check for the BSV fan club, don’t you think? The court even used Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as examples. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. 🤦‍♂️

Now, the main argument of sub-class B was that the delisting meant they missed out on a price surge. The court didn’t see it that way. According to the judges, these investors could have sold or reinvested in other cryptocurrencies. Apparently, they missed that memo. The court also pointed out that these investors had “a duty to mitigate their losses.” In other words: tough luck, folks. The market is unforgiving. 🙄

Court Strikes Down “Loss of a Chance” Argument

But wait, there’s more! The appeal also challenged the Tribunal’s application of the “market mitigation rule,” suggesting that such matters should be left for trial. The court, however, wasn’t having any of it. They firmly stated that the rule applies to freely tradable assets like BSV and that damages should be assessed soon after the delisting. So, no waiting around for that ‘next big thing.’ ⏳

And as for the whole “loss of a chance” argument? The court quickly shot that down as “flawed as a matter of principle.” Because, as we all know, cryptocurrencies are as stable as a house of cards in a hurricane. And no, that’s not a chance we’re willing to take, thank you very much. 🤷‍♂️

Binance’s application to strike out the claims ultimately succeeded. The court clarified that even if some investors were unaware of the delisting, they could never claim more than the total value of their holdings before the delisting. And any potential future gains? Not so fast, buddy. 🏃‍♂️

Binance’s Next Big Move: Dismissal of FTX Lawsuit

And just when you thought things couldn’t get any more dramatic, Binance also filed a motion on May 16 to dismiss a $1.76 billion lawsuit from the FTX estate. They’re arguing that the claims are legally flawed and just an attempt to shift blame for FTX’s legendary collapse. You know, Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud charges probably had something to do with it, but let’s not go there. 🙃

Binance wants the court to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, essentially saying, “You’re not getting anywhere with this.” The FTX estate hasn’t filed its response yet, but we’re pretty sure they’ve got their hands full. 🍿

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2025-05-22 15:47