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In an ecosystem where court decisions influence trajectories as much as technologies, a ruling issued this week has dampened the hopes of thousands of Bitcoin SV (BSV) investors. On Tuesday, May 21, the UK Court of Appeal partially dismissed a class action lawsuit against Binance and several other exchanges, putting at least a temporary halt to a legal process that began five years ago.
In brief
- The UK Court of Appeal partially dismissed a $11.9 billion lawsuit against Binance.
- Plaintiffs claimed a loss of opportunity for gains related to the potential growth of crypto.
- The Court reminded that investors had a duty to mitigate their losses by reallocating their funds.
- This decision strengthens individual responsibility in crypto investments and could set a precedent.
A Strategic Legal Victory for Binance
On May 21, 2025, the UK Court of Appeal ruled against a class action filed by Bitcoin SV (BSV) investors targeting Binance, Kraken, ShapeShift, and Bittylicious. Similar to another recent action filed against Strategy for lack of transparency towards crypto investors, this lawsuit sought to hold major industry players accountable for losses suffered by crypto holders.
These platforms were accused of causing major financial damage by delisting the crypto in April 2019. Plaintiffs were seeking 8.9 billion pounds sterling (about 11.9 billion dollars) in alleged losses.
Here are the key points in the decision :
- Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos stated that “BSV was obviously not a unique crypto without reasonably similar substitutes”. He cited Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as credible alternatives ;
- The Court held that investors have “a duty to mitigate their losses”, meaning to sell or reinvest in other assets to limit impact ;
- The so-called “market mitigation” rule was applied, specifying that losses must be assessed shortly after the market event, here the crypto’s delisting from platforms.
In substance, the Court considered that plaintiffs could not claim compensation based on a speculative projection of future Bitcoin SV performance. The judges emphasized that legal tools cannot be used to guarantee hypothetical profits in such an uncertain market.
A Strong Signal for Volatile Markets
The other crucial point in the case concerned the legal notion of “loss of chance”, i.e., the theoretical possibility of benefiting from future gains. Thus, plaintiffs argued that by delisting BSV, platforms caused them to lose a financial opportunity comparable to that offered by major cryptos like BTC or BCH.
Again, the Court was categorical. It declared that this approach was “fundamentally flawed in principle”, adding that “cryptos are, by nature, volatile investments”.
The Court also reaffirmed that even if some investors were not immediately aware of the BSV delisting, their legal recourse was strictly limited.
At best, they could claim compensation equal to the value of their initial investment before delisting, plus direct and quantifiable losses, but certainly not hypothetical unrealized profits.
This distinction introduces potentially structuring case law. Jurisdictions could now consider that speculation on the future performance of a crypto asset does not constitute legally reparable harm.
This decision could have consequences far beyond the BSV case. By invalidating the speculative basis of the complaint, British justice reinforces the principle of individual investor responsibility when faced with factors amplifying falls in the case of crypto market volatility. It could also serve as a reference in other ongoing disputes, notably those opposing exchanges to users harmed by delistings or perceived manipulations.
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Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d’une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j’ai rejoint l’aventure Cointribune en 2019.
Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l’économie, j’ai pris l’engagement de sensibiliser et d’informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu’elle offre. Je m’efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l’actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
