Plaintiffs in a long-standing class action lawsuit against Tether and Bitfinex have submitted a refined complaint, alleging market manipulation and antitrust violations by the crypto firms. On Monday, the amended complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), accusing Tether and its affiliate Bitfinex of artificially orchestrating a scheme to inflate cryptocurrency prices.
The complaint claims Tether’s dollar-backed stablecoin, USDT, was injected into the crypto market without being fully backed by the U.S. dollars, thus creating an illusion of increased demand, and this purportedly facilitated credit trading and loaned funds, driving up prices.
In the latest complaint, the plaintiffs’ attorneys focus on three main accusations: violating the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) through market manipulation, monopolization, and restraint of trade— the latter two being breaches of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This streamlined version contrasts with previous complaints, which listed eight and twelve causes of action, respectively.
A Tether spokesperson dismissed the allegations as “wholly without merit,” expressing confidence in prevailing against what they termed “nonsensical conspiracy theories.”
This is the third complaint in the case overseen by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, following initial filings in 2019 and an amended complaint in 2020. The case has encountered various obstacles, notably the removal of the original plaintiffs’ counsel, Roche Freedman after footage surfaced in 2022 of attorney Kyle Roche allegedly admitting to filing frivolous lawsuits for clients.
Last year, Tether and Bitfinex opposed the plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint again, arguing it was essentially a reset attempt after discovery concluded. However, in June, Judge Failla allowed the filing of the second amended complaint.
The decision does not suggest that plaintiffs’ claims have any merit, as leave to amend a complaint is freely granted and the Court must accept plaintiffs’ allegations as true, however baseless they might be in reality.
The lead plaintiffs, U.S.-based crypto traders Matthew Script, Benjamin Leibowitz, Jason Leibowitz, and Pinchas Goldshtein, are joined by several other civil class action suits in this ongoing case.
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