BitMEX prospects are searching for the return of 622.66 bitcoins in a proposed class motion lawsuit accusing the alternate of engineering liquidations and merchants’ collateral retention. The criticism, filed July 23 within the Southern District of New York, arrives as BitMEX begins a regulatory-approved wind-down forward of its September shutdown.
BKX Companies Inc. claims losses of at the least 305.809 BTC in BitMEX liquidations in 2018, whereas David Namdar claims losses of 316.856 BTC from 2019 to 2020. Each firms are searching for the coin itself, not simply the greenback worth, for replevin and fraud expenses.
The lawsuit names BitMEX operator HDR World Buying and selling Restricted and 4 affiliated firms: ABS World Buying and selling Restricted, 100x Holdings Restricted, Shine Effort Inc Restricted, and HDR World Companies (Bemuda) Restricted. Co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Benjamin Dero are additionally named defendants, together with Gregory Dwyer.
Plaintiffs allege that BitMEX’s liquidation engine closed positions when unrealized losses reached roughly half of what collateral merchants had posted. In line with the submitting, collateral equal to roughly twice the quantity of the loss remained, however BitMEX seized the rest and transferred it to an insurance coverage fund with out returning it.
The criticism additional alleges {that a} non-public inside buying and selling desk might be able to view buyer positions, hidden orders, and liquidation factors. The desk claims that it used anonymized accounts that allowed it to proceed buying and selling throughout server freezes that locked out retail prospects, whereas permitting it to commerce on reference exchanges and induce worth actions that induced liquidations. This allegation has not been confirmed in courtroom.
BitMEX CEO Peter Wilkinson denied the lawsuit in feedback to Benzinga, calling it “false and opportunistic” and saying the corporate would vigorously defend itself.
The submitting revisits the conduct that was the topic of a earlier BitMEX class motion lawsuit filed beneath the Commodity Change Act in 2020. The case was voluntarily dismissed with out prejudice in June 2025 and not using a determination on the deserves. As an alternative, the brand new lawsuit acknowledges replevin and fraud and alleges that the earlier lawsuit suspended the relevant limitations interval.
The Seychelles Monetary Companies Authority introduced that HDR voluntarily withdrew its pending digital asset license software on July 23. Beneath the plan accepted by regulators, HDR is restricted to winding up operations, liquidating positions and returning shopper property by the point alternate companies stop on September 23.
In line with BitMEX’s closure discover, customers will keep entry to examine their balances and withdraw funds after that date, and the corporate states that its property exceed its liabilities. Whereas the wind-down plan targets property held by prospects, it’s silent on disputed Bitcoin via previous liquidations, including urgency to possession points with out establishing jurisdiction and undermining litigation and restoration.
