Svmuu News: Cryptocurrency derivatives platform BitMEX is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit; BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar have filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.The plaintiffs allege that they collectively lost 622.66 BTC in forced liquidations on BitMEX; specifically, BKX claims to have lost at least 305.81 BTC, while Namdar claims to have lost more than 316.85 BTC.
The complaint alleges that BitMEX’s internal trading desk has access to customers’ private information and can continue trading even when servers are frozen, ordinary users are unable to access the platform, or positions are being liquidated.The plaintiffs further allege that BitMEX allows clients to use leverage of up to 100x and automatically liquidates positions when the value of collateral is still twice the amount of the loss, with the remaining BTC transferred to the platform’s insurance fund.
The plaintiff seeks the return of the allegedly withheld Bitcoin and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of U.S. customers who purchased BTC swap products beginning on July 23, 2018.On the same day the lawsuit was filed, BitMEX announced that, following a strategic review by its owner, HDR Global Trading, it would cease operations on September 23. The platform had already stopped accepting new registrations and planned to prohibit users from opening new positions starting August 26.