A legal battle involving multiple exchanges delisting a particular token in 2019 continues to unfold after five years, with U.K. authorities initiating proceedings against six companies.
On June 5, the U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal commenced a hearing against six exchanges that removed the forked cryptocurrency Bitcoin SV (BSV) from their platforms in 2019.
The defendants include major crypto exchanges such as Binance’s European arm, Binance Europe Services, as well as Erik Voorhees’ ShapeShift, Kraken (represented as Payward), and the Bitcoin exchange Bittylicious along with related entities.
BitMEX Research indicates that each of the six defendants has its own legal team, resulting in a significant number of lawyers and extensive documentation involved in the case.
The tribunal has estimated that the collective proceedings order (CPO) will take three days to complete.
Bitcoin SV, a blockchain and cryptocurrency, emerged from a split with Bitcoin Cash in 2018.
Named “Satoshi’s Vision,” it was founded by a blockchain development firm associated with Craig Wright, who falsely claimed to be Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Bitcoin Cash fork led to a divide within the community, with different groups and key figures promoting their own versions.
Prominent supporters of another forked coin, Bitcoin ABC, included Roger Ver, Bitmain, and exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.
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The class-action lawsuit revisits the controversy surrounding the wave of BSV delistings in April 2019. Exchanges such as Binance and Kraken provided minimal explanations for their decision to remove the token.
Kraken stated that BSV was involved in behavior “completely antithetical” to the values of Kraken and the broader crypto community, even conducting a poll on X in 2019 that labeled BSV as “toxic.”
Similarly, Binance offered little rationale for delisting BSV, merely stating that it no longer met their standards.
In 2022, Binance, Kraken, and other exchanges faced a $12-billion U.K. class action over the BSV delistings.
Plaintiffs claimed that those who held BSV after the 2019 delistings missed out on growth opportunities, demanding $9 billion in compensation for their losses.
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