Celsius Sues BitMEX Over Alleged $486M Unlawful Liquidation
Celsius, the bankrupt crypto lender, has filed a lawsuit against five companies associated with BitMEX, seeking compensation for allegedly unlawful liquidation of their Bitcoin positions.
The defendants include HDR Global Trading, ABS Global Trading, Shine Effort, 100x Holdings, and HDR Global Services. Celsius claims that during the March 2020 market crash, BitMEX wrongfully liquidated their orders, including a 1325.84 BTC collateralized position on March 12, and a JST fund position of 5034.33 BTC on March 13.
The plaintiffs allege that BitMEX controlled the prices at which liquidations were triggered, the execution mechanism, and the insurance fund where part of the funds went. They also point to a BitMEX outage on March 13, after which the platform's liquidations allegedly ceased, and the price of Bitcoin recovered.
Celsius demands compensation for the principal liquidation amounts, as well as punitive damages and legal costs. This lawsuit comes just 11 days before BitMEX's planned shutdown in summer 2026.