{"id":194438,"date":"2023-10-02T22:19:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T22:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/?p=194438"},"modified":"2023-10-02T22:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T22:19:23","slug":"class-action-suit-filed-against-binance-for-alleged-harm-to-ftx-before-its-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/crypto\/class-action-suit-filed-against-binance-for-alleged-harm-to-ftx-before-its-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Class-action suit filed against Binance for alleged harm to FTX before its collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"
A class-action suit was filed against Binance.US and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Oct. 2 in the District Court of Northern California alleging various violations of federal and California law on unfair competition for attempting to monopolize the cryptocurrency market by harming its competitor FTX. The suit was brought by Nir Lahav, who is identified only as a California resident.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At issue are posts made by Zhao on Twitter (now X) in early November on the eve of FTX\u2019s collapse. The posts were made in conjunction with the decision by the defendants to liquidate their holdings in the FTX utility token FTT on Nov. 6. The plaintiffs estimated that Binance owned up to 5% of all FTT tokens. <\/p>\n
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The following day, Zhao stated in a Twitter post that Binance had signed a letter of intent to acquire FTX, but it backed out of that deal one day later. According to the suit:<\/p>\n
\u201cZhao publicly disseminated this information [on the withdrawal of the acquisition offer] on twitter and other social media platforms to hurt FTX Entities that ultimately lead to a rushed and unprecedented collapse of FTX Entities.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
After began its argumentation with a defense of the Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s (SEC) policies on crypto and invocation of the Supreme Court\u2019s Howey and Reves decisions, among others. <\/p>\n
It went on to claim that Zhao\u2019s Nov. 6 tweet, \u201cDue to recent revelations that have came [sic] to light, we have decided to liquidate any remaining FTT on our books,\u201d was false and misleading, since Binance has already sold its FTT holdings, and the post was \u201cintended to cause the price of FTT in the market to decline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related: New FTX documentary to spotlight SBF-CZ relationship<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
The plaintiffs found evidence for their claim in the same post by Zhao, where he wrote, \u201cWe are not against anyone. [\u2026] But we won\u2019t support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs.\u201d The plaintiffs took the latter sentence to indicate that Binance opposed FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s \u201cregulatory efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit alleges that Zhao\u2019s proposal to acquire FTX was not made in good faith and the episode would \u201cultimately lead\u201d to the collapse of FTX:<\/p>\n
\u201cZhao\u2019s tweet resulted in FTT price declining from US 23.1510 to US 3.1468. This significant drop plummeted FTX Entities into bankruptcy without giving an opportunity or chance to FTX Entities\u2019 executives and board of directors a chance [sic] to salvage the situation and put in safe guards to protect its clients and end-users.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The suit demanded monetary damages, court costs and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains based on seven counts. \u201cPlaintiff believes that there are thousands of members of the proposed class,\u201d the suit stated. <\/p>\n
As the suit noted, both Binance and FTX are currently subject to SEC actions. The criminal case against Bankman-Fried will begin Oct. 4 in New York. Zhao addressed potential accusations of unfair competition in the same tweet that is cited in the suit. \u201cRegarding any speculation as to whether this is a move against a competitor, it is not,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n
His statement did not stop speculation to that effect within the crypto community, however.The CEOs of the crypto exchanges traded jibes on then-Twitter for weeks afterward.<\/p>\n
Magazine: FTX bankruptcy filing details, Binance\u2019s crypto industry fund and a U.S. CBDC pilot: Hodler\u2019s Digest, Nov. 13-19<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n