A US appeals court partly overturned a dismissal of a class-action lawsuit alleging Binance illegally manipulated the HEX token’s price.
A class-action claim alleging Binance was primarily overturned by a panel of three judges. CoinMarketCap and the we influenced the HEX token’s price.
Three judges on the Ninth Circuit panel overturned a district court’s earlier decision to dismiss the class action lawsuit, ruling that Ryan Cox, the plaintiff, had legitimate claims against CoinMarketCap and Binance—the US.
Cox initially brought the class-action lawsuit in 2021, claiming that Binance Capital Management and Binance.US had rigged the rankings of HEX on CoinMarketCap, Binance’s cryptocurrency price-tracking website.
As a result, according to Cox, Binance’s coins were rated higher, and HEX traded at a lower price.
In February 2023, a district court judge first dismissed the claim, ruling that Cox had not produced any tangible evidence connecting particular actions in Arizona with Binance.US that would have connected Binance.US to HEX manipulation.
The judges disapproved of the district court’s initial ruling on August 12, stating that Cox was not required to establish “sufficient minimum contacts” between Binance.US and Arizona, the state Cox initially brought the action, asking a court to grant personal jurisdiction.
The panel determined that the defendants in the lawsuit are US citizens and have adequate relations with the US on a broader scale, so the district court has personal jurisdiction over them.
According to the opinion, “each company has sufficient contacts with the United States to satisfy due process, given that each is incorporated or has a principal place of business in the United States.”
The power of a court to formally rule on the rights and obligations of the defendants—in this case, Binance.US and CoinMarketCap—is referred to as personal jurisdiction.
The appeals court further concluded that Cox’s lawsuit against Binance.US included legitimate charges of pricing manipulation and noted that the case had been remanded for further judicial action.
In December 2019, Richard Heart, the app’s inventor, released HEX.
On July 31, 2023, the SEC they have filed a lawsuit against Heart for breaking federal securities laws and defrauding investors of “at least” $12.1 million in both the US and abroad.
The SEC asserted that Heart utilized investor funds to finance personal luxury purchases, such as a “555-carat diamond, expensive watches, and high-end automobiles,” rather than to develop or sell the HEX cryptocurrency.
At present, the value of the HEX token is $0.004, indicating a decrease of nearly 99% from its peak of $0.51 in September 2021.