Celsius estate files $495 million lawsuit against BitMEX over 2020 liquidations

Celsius Network’s bankruptcy estate has filed a lawsuit against BitMEX, seeking $495 million in connection with a liquidation cascade during Bitcoin’s market turmoil in March 2020. The complaint, filed Sept. 12 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that entities behind the crypto derivatives exchange engaged in fraud, market manipulation and wrongful liquidations. Celsius says the events resulted in losses exceeding 6,360 Bitcoin. The legal action was filed 11 days before BitMEX’s scheduled exchange shutdown, according to CryptoSlate’s report. The case places renewed focus on the handling of leveraged cryptocurrency positions during one of Bitcoin’s most volatile market episodes, although the allegations have not been established in court. The lawsuit concerns events from 2020 and does not indicate any change to Bitcoin’s current market price or trading conditions.