Celsius sues BitMEX for $495 million, seeking 6,360 BTC

BlockBeats news, September 17 - The bankruptcy administrator of crypto lending platform Celsius filed a lawsuit on September 12 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York against BitMEX-related entities, accusing them of fraud, market manipulation, and improper forced liquidations during the market crash triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and demanding the return of 6,360 BTC, currently valued at approximately $495 million.

Celsius claims that it suffered a forced liquidation on a position on March 12, 2020, losing 1,325.84 BTC; in addition, the 5,034.33 BTC sought by its investment fund JST also involved a forced liquidation the following day. The plaintiff alleges that the relevant positions could only be profitable if the Bitcoin price remained stable or rose, and accuses BitMEX of simultaneously controlling the client liquidation mechanism and the insurance fund composed of funds obtained from liquidations.

The complaint further alleges that BitMEX "intentionally designed" its platform and liquidation procedures to cause client collateral to be liquidated and harm client interests. However, the above allegations have not yet been recognized by the court.

Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022, having previously marketed its strategy as a low-risk Delta-neutral strategy, including arbitrage and funding rate yields. However, its bankruptcy filings and the court-appointed examiner's report show that the company's actual operations involved high-risk derivatives and asset allocation mechanisms. BitMEX previously announced that it will cease trading on September 23.

BlockBeats previously reported that on July 23, BitMEX announced that it will officially close its trading platform at 04:00 (UTC) on September 23, 2026. As of that date, the platform has stopped all new user registrations. BitMEX stated that after a strategic review of the company's business and the entire crypto industry, the board of directors of its parent company HDR Global Trading Limited decided to close the trading platform.