Plaintiffs File Second Amended Complaint in Ongoing Class Action Lawsuit against Tether and Bitfinex

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As a seasoned researcher with extensive experience in the field of financial market manipulation and antitrust laws, I have closely followed the ongoing saga between Tether and Bitfinex, and the latest development in this class action lawsuit has piqued my interest.

As a crypto investor, I’ve been closely following the developments in the legal battle between Tether and Bitfinex. In their recent filing, the plaintiffs have leveled new allegations against these companies, accusing them of manipulating the cryptocurrency market through fraudulent activities and violating antitrust laws.

The grievance asserted that Tether and Bitfinex collaborated in a manipulative scheme aimed at inflating cryptocurrency prices, including Bitcoin‘s. They reportedly accomplished this by executing strategic, large-scale buys to create an illusion of substantial demand, which subsequently triggered price surges.

According to reports, the funds for these transactions allegedly originated from approximately $2 billion in USDT. Contrary to Tether’s claims, not all of this digital currency was fully backed by US dollars at the time. Therefore, the plaintiff contends that both Tether and its associated cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, violated United States laws, including the Commodity Exchange Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Disputes Over Lack of Evidence and Merits of the Claims

Crypto firms have challenged the allegations made by the plaintiff in their lawsuit, attempting to modify the complaint from last year. They contend that following two years of meticulous data collection, no concrete proof has been uncovered to substantiate the accusation that they artificially influenced the market.

The plaintiff was requested to begin anew in providing the necessary information, a demand that came after they had already completed their data collection. Nevertheless, Judge Failla granted the plaintiff permission to submit a revised complaint in June.

As a crypto investor, I’ve closely followed the developments in the ongoing case, and I must admit that the recent turn of events has been quite surprising. After two long years of fact-finding, with over a million pages of documents uncovered and numerous depositions taken, not a single piece of evidence has emerged to substantiate the market manipulation claims made in the complaint.

In response to the allegations in the revised lawsuit, Tether’s representative asserts that these claims hold no water, much like the initial ones. The spokesperson emphasizes that the crux of the matter lies in facts and proof, which the accuser currently lacks. The representative remains confident about the case’s eventual resolution and expects the plaintiff’s motion to be dismissed.

In the end, what truly counts are the facts and valid proof. It’s important to remember that unfounded claims and deceptive accusations from the plaintiffs don’t hold water. We remain optimistic about the outcome of this lawsuit, believing that logic and rational arguments will carry the day, rather than the plaintiffs’ baseless theories.

Despite the crypto firm’s persistent denial of any wrongdoing, the accuser asserts that independent examinations confirm that Bitfinex and Tether released USDT without sufficient backing and employed counterfeit USDT for significant purchases of cryptocurrencies.

I’ve analyzed the current legal proceedings, and this lawsuit was initiated in 2019, with an amended version filed in 2020. As a third-party observer, I can confirm that three primary allegations have been put forth by the plaintiff against Tether and Bitfinex. These claims involve accusations of market manipulation within the cryptocurrency sphere, monopolistic practices, and restrictive trading activities that are believed to contravene the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The case has encountered numerous obstacles, such as the replacement of the plaintiffs’ original lawyer in 2022 due to certain disputes. This legal action is being spearheaded by a group of US cryptocurrency traders: Matthew Script, Jason Leibowitz, Pinchas Goldshtein, and Benjamin Leibowitz.

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2024-07-16 15:00