BitMEX Suit Plaintiffs Claim to Present New ‘Smoking Gun’ Evidence

HDR, the parent company of crypto trading platform BitMEX, which was charged with facilitating unregistered trading in October last year, faces new “smoking gun” evidence, according to a motion filed by the plaintiffs.

• The notice filed Tuesday requested that the stay on discovery currently in place be lifted and that 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 that 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.