Multibillion-pound claim brought on behalf of more than 200,000 UK investors wins permission to proceed to trial
Claim alleges that Binance and other crypto exchanges colluded to delist the cryptocurrency BSV, breaching competition law and leaving BSV holders out of pocket
Legal action demands compensation for UK investors and is led by Lord David Currie, a former chair of Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority

The United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) has certified a landmark competition case brought against major cryptocurrency exchanges by Velitor client BSV Claims Ltd. The approval of the CAT was handed down on Friday 26 July, and means the claim – which alleges £9.9 billion in damages on behalf of an estimated 240,000 BSV investors – will now proceed to trial.

Class representative BSV Claims Ltd is led by Lord David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone. He said of the decision:

“This is a significant day for UK holders of BSV. The CAT has decided that BSV Claims can argue its case that crypto asset exchanges are subject to the same competition laws as other businesses. BSV Claims hopes that this case will strengthen investor protection, as well as enhancing the UK’s status as a jurisdiction at the forefront of cryptoasset law.”

The claim is brought by BSV Claims Ltd against four exchanges: Binance, Bittylicious, Kraken and Shapeshift. BSV Claims alleges the exchanges colluded to delist BSV in 2019, thereby restricting, distorting and/or preventing competition in the United Kingdom in violation of the Competition Act 1998. Kraken and Binance are also alleged to have caused further losses to investors by forcibly converting BSV to other cryptocurrencies without investors’ consent.

BSV Claims alleges that the exchanges’ actions had the result of harming BSV’s prospects and reducing competition in the UK, causing BSV investors to suffer up to £9.9 billion in losses.

As BSV Claims Ltd was seeking a collective proceedings order (“CPO”) (similar to class action proceedings in the U.S.), the CAT had been required to decide whether or not to ‘certify’ the proceedings. For this, the CAT needed to decide whether or not BSV Claims Ltd should be approved as the class representative and whether the claim is suitable to proceed as a collective proceeding. Last Friday, the CAT cleared the claim to proceed to a trial. None of the defendant exchanges opposed the grant of a CPO. A trial date will be set at a Case Management Hearing later this year.

Lord Currie was inaugural chair of Ofcom and of the Competition and Markets Authority, and is the former dean of the Bayes Business School.

Binance recently made a separate application to strike out £8.9 billion of the damages BSV Claims seeks. Binance’s application was unsuccessful, although Binance was able to strike out the alternative legal basis for this claim.

As the claim is brought on an opt-out basis, class members do not need to take any action at this time. However, class members are encouraged to register for updates on the progress of the case by visiting http://www.bsvclaims.com

BSV Claims Limited, on behalf of the Proposed Class Representative, is represented by Velitor Law, instructing Sarah Ford KC and William Hooper of Brick Court Chambers with Nicholas Bacon KC of 4 New Square Chambers.

Notes for editors:

The claim is for a collective proceedings order (“CPO”) under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998.

The legal action is being brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The CAT is a specialist court dealing with competition law issues. It is a court of first instance, at the same level as the High Court.

The claim is supported by independent expert valuation evidence obtained from Oxera Economics. Oxera is a well-regarded economics consultancy with extensive experience of calculating damages in competition cases.

Oxera estimates the damage caused by the defendants at up to £9,938.1 billion, including interest to 21 July 2022. Actual damages awarded will be determined by the CAT.

The damages received by investors will depend on the circumstances in which they held or sold BSV following the 2019 delisting. There are three distinct groups. The first group suffered losses as a result of selling after the delisting because the delisting reduced the price of BSV. The second group suffered losses because they were deprived of the chance of selling BSV for a much higher price, which BSV would have achieved but for the delisting. The third group suffered losses because they were customers of Binance and Kraken and had their BSV forcibly converted into different coins. Investors in the third group were therefore deprived of the chance to sell BSV at higher prices that would have prevailed but for the delisting.

About Velitor: Our ambition at Velitor Law is simple: we want to be the UK’s most prestigious claimant disputes firm, bringing together the most perceptive and effective legal minds and backing them with unrivalled resources, progressive technologies and a clear purpose. We have a unique focus on claimants which, in turn, provides us with a single-minded mission to seek justice and recourse against seemingly insurmountable institutions. And our experience of handling high-profile cases, at the highest level, for them is second to none.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730314449/en/

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Palatine Communications: Conal Walsh, Joshua Wolff
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