Bitfinex, a beleaguered crypto exchange, was hit by a class-action lawsuit last week filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Bitfinex is also the target of an investigation that was launched by the New York Office of the Attorney General. The AG claimed earlier this year that Bitfinex operators, who also control Tether, engaged in a cover-up to hide a loss of $850 million of “co-mingled client and corporate funds.”
In October, a separate class-action lawsuit was filed by against Bitfinex and Tether, alleged creators of “Largest Bubble in Human History.”
Bitfinex stated earlier this month that it had advised the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York of its intention to file a motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuit it deemed “frivolous.”
Earlier today, Bitfinex slammed the class action filing in a blog post:
“On November 22, without notice to us, a class action complaint was filed against Bitfinex and Tether in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. This copycat lawsuit suffers from the same multitude of deficiencies as the unsound complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 6. The Plaintiffs’ claims here are similarly without merit, and Bitfinex strongly contests the bogus research purporting to support them.
As we predicted last month, mercenary lawyers continue to try to use Bitfinex and Tether to obtain a payday. To be clear, there will be no nuisance settlements or settlements of any kind reached. Instead, all claims raised across both actions will be vigorously contested and ultimately disposed of in due course. Once they are, Bitfinex and Tether will fully evaluate their legal options against those bringing and promoting the baseless claims.”
Bitfinex called the accusations “absurd and groundless” while stating the attack was not just directed at them but the entire digital token ecosystem.
“Our fight is the community’s fight,” stated Bitfinex.
Bitfinex also claimed that has never used Tether token issuance to manipulate cryptocurrency pricing. Multiple industry observers and participants have claimed that some crypto trading, and perhaps the price of Bitcoin, are impacted by bogus trades and manipulation.
Bitfinex called it “irresponsible” to suggest that its company had engaged in any illicit activity.