A British software engineer has brought a claim in London’s Commercial Court seeking the return of 324.8 Bitcoin from HDR Global Trading, the operator of the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX. He alleges the platform carried out regulated derivatives transactions with him in the UK without authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The Bitcoin was valued at £20.4 million on October 1, equivalent to about $27.2 million based on exchange rates cited in the claim, according to Decrypt. Lewis Barber says he traded on BitMEX from five accounts between 2018 and 2022, completing about 2,294 transactions. His legal challenge concerns the 1,053 trades that resulted in losses.
The case could have implications beyond Barber if other UK-based BitMEX customers pursue similar claims. However, the allegations have not been tested in court, and BitMEX said no claim had been formally served on HDR Global Trading when contacted by The Guardian.
The legal argument over perpetual swaps
Barber’s claim focuses on the type of contracts he traded. All 1,053 disputed transactions were perpetual swaps, crypto derivatives that resemble futures contracts but do not have an expiry date.
His lawyers argue that each transaction amounted to a regulated activity in the UK. Because BitMEX allegedly lacked the authorization required to conduct that activity, the claim says the trades cannot be enforced against Barber under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The claim also alleges that BitMEX allowed UK residents to use the exchange rather than preventing access from the country. Barber says new users could select the UK as their place of residence and that BitMEX promoted its services internationally, including through an advertisement in The Times in January 2019.
The filing points to an FCA warning issued in March 2020. According to the claim, the regulator warned that BitMEX might have been conducting regulated investments in the UK without authorization.
In addition to seeking the return of the Bitcoin, Barber alleges deceit. His argument is that BitMEX knew it was not authorized to operate in the UK while implicitly representing that it could legally enter into trades with him. His solicitors wrote to BitMEX in December 2025 to rescind the transactions, according to the particulars of claim reviewed by Decrypt.
BitMEX and potential wider claims
The lawsuit has been filed but had not yet been formally served on BitMEX, The Guardian reported. A BitMEX spokesperson told the newspaper: “No such claim has been served on HDR Global Trading Limited.”
Barber’s law firm, Seladore Legal, said other UK investors may have entered into comparable contracts with the exchange. It estimated that related claims could reach hundreds of millions of pounds in total. Gareth Keillor, a partner at the firm, cautioned that whether any individual has a valid claim would depend on that person’s specific circumstances and trading record.
The litigation comes after BitMEX announced in July that it would close and shut down on September 23. The exchange’s co-founders—Ben Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed—pleaded guilty in 2022 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act related to anti-money-laundering failures. They were pardoned by President Donald Trump in March 2025.
BitMEX itself pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations in 2024 and was ordered to pay $100 million in January 2025. Separately, a proposed class action in New York accuses the company and its co-founders of theft of Bitcoin and insider trading.
Current crypto market picture
Moneyiar data at 21:34 on October 15, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $82,165.875435765, up 0.4% over 24 hours and 0.68% over seven days.
Ethereum Name Service was priced at $5.7717890027, with a 24-hour increase of 0.18% but a seven-day decline of 7.09%. ChangeNOW Token stood at $0.4335943848, up 0.29% in 24 hours and 2.18% over the week, according to the same Moneyiar data.
