Binance and Others Beat a $11.9B UK Lawsuit Over BSV Delistings

Court ruled investors had no legal right to hypothetical crypto profits. The decision sets a major precedent limiting future crypto litigation claims.

Binance and several other crypto exchanges just scored a major win in the UK.

A high-stakes class-action lawsuit brought by Bitcoin SV (BSV) investors was partially dismissed by the UK Court of Appeal on May 21.

The case, which could have seen Binance pay up to $11.9 billion, was brought by investors who claimed they were unable to benefit from BSV’s potential price appreciation after Binance, Kraken, ShapeShift, and Bittylicious delisted the coin in 2019.

However, the judges ruled that the investors had no legal right to hypothetical crypto profits and that they had a duty to mitigate their losses.

What Happened?

The case arose after Binance, Kraken, ShapeShift, and Bittylicious decided to cease trading BSV in 2019.

At the time, BSV was one of the more widely traded cryptos. It was also the target of considerable online criticism, with some commenters alleging that it was a scam.

The investors, who were trading BSV in 2019 with Binance, ShapeShift, Bittylicious, and Kraken, claimed that the delisting would have prevented BSV from reaching its potential.

This, they alleged, would have resulted in huge losses for them. They argued that BSV might have climbed in value like Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash if it had only stayed listed.

But the UK Court wasn’t buying it.

“BSV was obviously not a unique cryptocurrency without reasonably similar substitutes,” Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, stated.

In other words, there were always other coins to pivot to.

Investors Had a Duty

One of the ruling’s clearest points: investors had a duty to act. If they believed BSV would suffer after delisting, they should’ve moved their funds to other similar assets.

“They had a duty to mitigate their losses,” wrote Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos. “They cannot recover losses that they could reasonably have mitigated.”

And because they didn’t, the court said they couldn’t claim damages based on what might have happened. This is a reminder that crypto markets are fast-moving and coins can be delisted quickly.

But the judges also pointed out that the investors were experienced traders who were capable of switching to another crypto in 2019.

This means they couldn’t claim for the loss of a chance to benefit from BSV’s potential appreciation.

No Payout for ‘What Could Have Been’

A big part of the investors’ case was the idea of a “loss of a chance”, the chance to make big profits if BSV had remained listed.

The court shut that down completely.

“Cryptos are, by their nature, volatile investments,” the ruling explained. And because of that volatility, the court isn’s going to award money for missed opportunities that may never have happened.

The only valid claims would need to be based on actual, proven losses, not imagined future gains.

A Major Win for Exchanges

This ruling doesn’t just help Binance. It sets a powerful legal example for how courts might handle similar lawsuits in the future.

Even if investors didn’t know about the delisting at the time, the court said their claim was limited to “the total value of their holding before the delisting events plus any quantifiable consequential losses.”

Basically: unless you can show exact losses, you’re not getting a payout.

Good Times Begin for Binance

This win comes right after Binance filed a motion to dismiss another billion-dollar lawsuit – this time from the FTX estate, which wants $1.76 billion. Binance says the FTX collapse was due to its own internal fraud, not anything Binance did.

With this UK decision under its belt, Binance may now have a stronger hand heading into other legal fights.