Bittrex and Poloniex Move for Summary Judgment in Market Manipulation Case

harmon_gavel_indictment
7 August 2020

Attorneys representing cryptocurrency exchanges Bittrex and Poloniex notified Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York Friday of their intention to move for summary judgment in a class-action case that alleges they, along with Tether and Bitfinex, were involved in fraud and market manipulation, according to court filings.

  • The motion seeks summary judgment, saying the plaintiffs cannot "prove the central premise of their claims" that cryptocurrency addresses at issue in the suit belong to Bitfinex nor that Bitfinex was using the funds to manipulate the market.
  • "In fact, both addresses belong to an individual with no apparent connection to Bitfinex," the letter explains.
  • Bittrex and Poloniex were added to the lawsuit as defendants in June 2020.
  • The suit has been ongoing since October 2019.
  • In a memo regarding the motion, Bitfinex wrote, "Plaintiffs and their attorneys will doubtless go back to the drawing board to dream up new theories ultimately designed to give them reasons to claim monies to which they have zero entitlement."

Update (August 8, 02:32 UTC): This article has been updated with a comment from Bitfinex.