BitMEX Suit Plaintiffs Claim to Present New 'Smoking Gun' Evidence

The plaintiffs have requested the stay on discovery currently in place be lifted.

AccessTimeIconJun 9, 2021 at 12:44 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:08 p.m. UTC
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HDR, the parent company of crypto trading platform BitMEX, which was charged with facilitating unregistered trading in October, faces new "smoking gun" evidence, according to a motion filed by the plaintiffs.

  • The notice filed Tuesday requested the stay on discovery currently in place be lifted and the normal discovery process be allowed to progress.
  • BitMEX and senior executives, including CEO Arthur Hayes and company owners Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, were charged with facilitating unregistered trading and other violations.
  • The civil lawsuit brought by plaintiffs BMA LLC, Yaroslav Kolchin, Vitaly Dubinin and others at the end of October 2020 alleges Hayes, Delo and Reed absconded with over $440 million of proceeds from nefarious activities to reduce the assets seized by authorities when charges were brought.
  • HDR denied the charges through a spokesperson, calling the claims "spurious."
  • The plaintiffs will move to lift the current stay on discovery on July 14 "in view of both ample and detailed facts and overwhelming documentary evidence."
  • The alleged "smoking gun evidence" includes photographs, screenshots and impartial witness statements which the plaintiffs claim should prove market manipulation on the part of BitMEX.
  • BitMEX did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.

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