The lawsuit against digital currency derivatives exchange BitMEX has grown to $540 million. What started as a case with one plaintiff has evolved into a case where two individuals claiming to be the first two seed investors in BitMEX were saying that they were cheated by the exchange.
How the BitMEX lawsuit started
The original lawsuit was filed on December 4, 2019, by Grasshopper Capital investment manager Frank Amato.
Amato claimed to be an early investor in BitMEX, participating in BitMEX’s 2015 seed round. He apparently made an initial investment of $30,000, which he was told would be converted to equity in BitMEX at a later date. However, that initial investment was never converted to equity.
By December 2019, what would have been Amato stake in BitMEX was worth $50 million; so Amato pressed charges, hoping a court would bring him justice and give him what he said was rightfully his. Amato wanted to recoup the value of his equity and was looking to be awarded $250 million in punitive damages.
From $300 million to $540 million
The case grew from $300 million to $540 with the addition of a new plaintiff, Elfio Guido, an individual who was allegedly the second seed investor in BitMEX. The addition of Guido has added $40 million to the plaintiff’s equity stake and $200 million in punitive damages, increasing the overall value of the lawsuit by $240 million.
We will be keeping an eye on how this case against BitMEX develops—but do not expect any insight from BitMEX. Back in December 2019, when Amato first filed the lawsuit, and Bloomberg broke the story, BitMEX said, “We will address Mr. Amato’s claims through the proper legal channels and will not comment beyond that.” But hopefully, we will hear from Mr. Amato and Mr. Guido soon.
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