litigation

The law firm Burwick Law represents retail investors in a revised lawsuit against Pump.fun, Solana Labs, and related executives. Previously, the judge allowed the plaintiffs to submit a second amended complaint, adding 5,000 private messages as new evidence, accusing them of orchestrating a "pump and dump" scheme.The lawsuit reveals that Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen admitted in private messages that most investors on the platform lost money, stating, "We made it easy for ordinary people to trade small coins worth under $50,000, but this also exposed everyone to an extremely low probability of winning, just like gambling." The lawsuit also claims that some crypto KOLs were paid to promote meme coins without disclosing their financial interests and were informed in advance about the purchase targets.However, the article points out that the evidence in the lawsuit is mostly based on rumors and lacks empirical proof of direct profits for Pump.fun executives, maintaining a reserved stance on the "criminal organization" allegations.

The founder of India's largest cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, Nischal Shetty, confirmed that the long-standing ownership dispute with Binance has entered formal litigation. The dispute dates back to 2019 when Binance announced its acquisition of WazirX, but the two parties have since publicly "clashed" multiple times over control and operational rights. Shetty stated that both sides are now "sticking to their guns," and the outcome of the lawsuit is crucial. Additionally, Shetty responded to the dispute with the custodian Liminal. WazirX had attributed part of the responsibility for the 2024 hacking incident (which resulted in losses exceeding $230 million) to its multi-signature custody infrastructure, but Liminal publicly rebutted this and released data to question it.

According to TheStreet, Nischal Shetty, the founder of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, stated in an interview that the long-standing ownership dispute between WazirX and Binance has entered the litigation stage.Shetty reiterated that WazirX was sold to Binance at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, although Binance has since denied holding any shares. Shetty mentioned that the current focus is on the platform's restart and rebuilding, and the final outcome of the ownership dispute will be determined by the law. He emphasized that the dispute will not significantly affect users operationally, and the updated terms of service from WazirX clearly outline the ownership issues and dispute explanations, providing users with greater transparency. WazirX has resumed operations after completing the restructuring process approved by the Singapore court.

The well-known American law firm Burwick Law has announced that it is preparing to file a lawsuit against Believe and its founder Ben Pasternak, and has opened a registration website for the affected community.In October of this year, the Believe ecosystem token LAUNCHCOIN announced that it had completed the upgrade to the BELIEVE token. As of the time of publication, the BELIEVE token has dropped from a peak of $120 million to $10.15 million, with a daily trading volume of only $195,400.Burwick Law has previously initiated multiple lawsuits in the crypto space, including lawsuits against projects such as LIBRA, M3M3, and pump.fun.

According to DL News, in early November, the Ethereum-based yield protocol Stream Finance reported that an "external fund manager" lost $93 million in cryptocurrency, accounting for about 17% of the entrusted assets. On Monday, Stream co-founder filed a lawsuit under Stream Trading Corp., accusing Georgia resident Ryan DeMattia of misappropriating the funds to cover personal losses after defaulting on a personal loan, and also accusing Florida resident Caleb McMeans of failing to fulfill the takeover agreement and the brand agreement signed in January of this year, currently requesting the court to enforce, as McMeans is suspected of shirking responsibility.The lawsuit details the brief and tumultuous history of the Stream protocol, which only operated for nine months before shutting down in November 2024 due to slowing growth and "operational challenges." After McMeans proposed the acquisition, he was to take full control as per the agreement, with Stream serving as the service provider, while McMeans was required to allocate fees, take responsibility, and disclose the flow of funds. However, after reaching several off-chain agreements, it became increasingly difficult to keep track of Stream's trading strategies in real time.In September, co-founders demanded increased transparency, but McMeans continued to delay. He later admitted that he allowed "employee" DeMattia to invest over $90 million off-chain and helped DeMattia evade inquiries from the co-founders. McMeans ultimately conceded, admitting that he had no formal relationship with DeMattia and agreed to withdraw the cryptocurrency he had entrusted to this "employee."

According to The Block, the prediction market platform Kalshi has received permission from Connecticut regulators to temporarily halt enforcement actions. Previously, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection issued a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com on December 2, accusing these companies of providing unlicensed sports-related betting services.Subsequently, Kalshi filed a lawsuit against Connecticut authorities a day later, claiming that its market (which allows users to trade on the outcomes of future events) is a derivative regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The company also sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Connecticut from taking any actions that could interfere with its operations.Judge Oliver's order provides Kalshi with temporary protection while the case continues to be heard. According to the schedule set on Monday, Connecticut regulators must respond to Kalshi's complaint by January 9, 2026, and the company must submit supplemental supporting arguments by January 30. Oral arguments are expected to be held in mid-February.

According to Decrypt, Binance is facing a new lawsuit accusing the exchange of creating a system that allowed cryptocurrency transactions related to Hamas between 2017 and 2023.The lawsuit was filed in federal court in North Dakota by over 300 American families who were killed or injured in Hamas attacks. The plaintiffs allege that Binance's corporate structure and compliance practices allowed users associated with terrorist organizations to transfer funds through the centralized cryptocurrency exchange. The lawsuit claims that Binance lacks adequate controls, with issues such as weak customer verification, a mixed-asset omnibus wallet, and internal communication practices that limit oversight. The plaintiffs' attorneys state that Binance not only intentionally provided financial services to Hamas but also actively sought to protect its Hamas clients and their funds from scrutiny by U.S. regulators or law enforcement.

According to Decrypt, the U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed Florida man Michael Prime's lawsuit attempting to recover over $354 million in Bitcoin.Prime claimed that the Bitcoin was stored on a hard drive that authorities destroyed when he was arrested in 2019 for forgery and identity theft. The court ruled that Prime waited too long to file his claim and that he had previously told investigators, probation officers, and judges that he held almost no cryptocurrency, contradicting his later assertion of owning "close to 3,443 Bitcoins." Federal agents ended their search for the Bitcoin based on his earlier statements and subsequently destroyed the equipment, including the orange hard drive in question. Prime was sentenced to over five years in prison in 2020.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, billionaire heir Taylor Thomson lost over $80 million in digital assets due to following investment advice related to a psychic.Thomson is a member of the family behind media and financial giant Thomson Reuters, and she invested millions of dollars in crypto assets with the help of her former close friend Ashley Richardson.Both had previously sought advice from psychics, and later Richardson became deeply involved in managing Thomson's crypto asset portfolio. During the bull market in 2021, Richardson reportedly managed over $140 million in crypto assets for Thomson across multiple wallets.However, the downturn in the crypto market in mid-2022 severely impacted the portfolio, with consulting firm Guidepost Solutions estimating that Thomson's losses exceeded $80 million.The firm accused Richardson of executing over 450,000 trades without proper authorization, exposing Thomson to high-risk strategies.Richardson denied the allegations, stating that she acted at Thomson's direction and that there was no formal contract between the two.In 2023, Thomson sued Richardson and Persistence; she has since settled with Persistence, while the lawsuit against Richardson is still ongoing.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, global investment firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) is suing its subsidiary Genesis Global Capital LLC for providing an $1.1 billion guarantee to support the now-bankrupt Genesis during the last cryptocurrency crash.In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, DCG stated that the company attempted to cover a potential "gap" with this $1.1 billion promissory note, which was a measure taken in response to the collapse of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in 2022. DCG pointed out that Three Arrows Capital was one of Genesis's largest borrowers.DCG is seeking a court order for Genesis Global Capital to pay it over $105 million plus interest.

ChainCatcher news, according to Protos, the cryptocurrency law firm Burwick Law aims to deliver a $440 million cryptocurrency lawsuit to a Dubai real estate developer using NFTs. The firm filed a lawsuit last December against seven defendants, including Peter McInnes, accusing them of stealing over $450 million in investor funds through a cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme.Burwick Law is requesting to serve the lawsuit documents via NFTs to the hard-to-reach defendants. The firm believes that since the alleged Ponzi scheme relied on social media promotion and NFT sales, serving via NFTs is appropriate.In previous news, the law firm Burwick Law has filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court on behalf of its clients against Kelsier Ventures, KIP Protocol, Meteora, and related parties regarding the LIBRA token issuance. This class action lawsuit accuses the defendants of orchestrating an unfair token issuance campaign that misled buyers and harmed the interests of retail investors.

ChainCatcher news, according to official information, Ripple Labs has reached a formal settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both parties have submitted the agreement to a New York court, which, if approved, will end the long-standing litigation surrounding the XRP token that began in 2020. Ripple will pay a $50 million fine, significantly lower than the SEC's previous demand of $2 billion and the court's earlier ruling of $125 million.According to the agreement, both parties will withdraw their respective appeals. This settlement is also seen as a sign of the SEC's shift in its cryptocurrency regulatory strategy.Previous news, Ripple agreed to waive its cross-appeal, and the SEC will retain $50 million of the $125 million fine.

ChainCatcher News, Acting Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline D. Pham expressed support for the Department of Justice's announcement to terminate the policy of regulating the cryptocurrency industry through prosecution, and instructed the CFTC not to file lawsuits based on violations of the registration provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act in cases where the defendant lacks subjective intent.Additionally, she has adjusted the functions of the enforcement department to promote the swift resolution of compliance backlogs that do not involve customer harm or market abuse.

ChainCatcher news, on the 11th local time, the nonpartisan oversight organization "American Oversight" filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking records from the "Office of Government Efficiency."The organization believes that despite the commitment from the head of the Office of Government Efficiency, Musk, to maintain maximum transparency in the department's actions, the structure of the Office of Government Efficiency dictates that its communications will still remain confidential.It is reported that the lawyers for the oversight organization believe that the Office of Government Efficiency should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. A White House spokesperson previously stated that the Office of Government Efficiency is governed by the Presidential Records Act. The National Archives and Records Administration has stated that documents under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Records Act cannot be released under the Freedom of Information Act for at least five years after the current administration's term ends.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reassigned its chief litigation counsel Jorge Tenreiro to the IT department responsible for maintaining the agency's computer systems. Tenreiro previously led six significant lawsuits against multiple cryptocurrency exchanges.At the same time, the SEC also adjusted the position of a lawyer involved in developing accounting guidelines for cryptocurrency custody. These guidelines had previously posed obstacles for banks providing cryptocurrency custody services to clients.

ChainCatcher news reports that in a recent lawsuit filed by the law firm Burwick Law against pump.fun, the main plaintiff was found to have lost $231 while trading PNUT. However, tracking the trader's address shows that he incurred a total loss of $49,535 from other transactions on pump.fun, indicating that he continued to use the site after filing the lawsuit.It is understood that pump.fun is led by 21-year-old CEO Noah Bernhard Hugo Tweedale, who co-founded the platform with 21-year-old CTO Dylan Kerler and 23-year-old COO Alon Cohen, who operates under a pseudonym. The lawsuit names these three individuals as well as the operator of pump.fun, Baton Corporation, as defendants. According to online documents, Baton Corporation was established in March 2023 and is located in a business park in Bury St. Edmunds.The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of PNUT purchasers, but nonetheless, the leading investor in the lawsuit, Kendall Carnahan, is the only designated plaintiff in the case. The lawsuit also claims that pump.fun sold and offered PNUT as unregistered securities, but emphasizes that there are no allegations of fraudulent intent against Baton Corporation, while seeking a trial by jury and requesting an economic amount for the plaintiffs, which will be determined during the trial.

ChainCatcher news, FTX's bankruptcy administrator is being sued by creditor Lidia Favario for extravagant spending. Favario pointed out that the bankruptcy administrator's expenses during the handling of the FTX bankruptcy proceedings were excessively luxurious, including high-end hotel accommodations and exorbitant transportation costs. She mentioned that A&M professionals spent $971.74 for one night at a luxury hotel in New York, and one professional spent $1,733 on a taxi.Additionally, FTX paid $2,683 to have three taxis wait for CEO John Ray's testimony. Favario is urging the court to expand the review of expenses to ensure compliance with the Department of Justice's reasonable spending standards.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, former litigation advisor to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and partner at BakerHostetler law firm, Teresa Goody Guillén, stated that the number of cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against cryptocurrency companies is expected to decrease in the new year. In the future, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will only be able to file lawsuits in cases involving securities.Therefore, if the lawsuits do not involve securities, the agency will refer these wrongdoers to the Department of Justice and other regulatory bodies, such as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ChainCatcher news, Jorge Tenreiro, who previously served as the acting head of the cryptocurrency and cybersecurity oversight division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been appointed as the chief litigation counsel, expanding his responsibilities. Tenreiro played a significant role in several landmark cases, including the lawsuit against Ripple Labs.This promotion comes as the Trump administration is about to take office, indicating that the SEC will continue to enforce strict cryptocurrency regulations. The establishment of Tenreiro's new position is expected to drive crypto innovation while continuing to focus on areas such as ICOs, token sales, and market manipulation, further influencing the legal standards for cryptocurrencies.