Celsius Estate Sues BitMEX Over $495 Million in Liquidated Bitcoin

The legal action, brought by the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium on behalf of Celsius creditors, targets five BitMEX-linked entities, including HDR Global Trading and 100x Holdings. The estate claims that during the extreme market volatility of March 2020, BitMEX liquidated positions held by Celsius and the investment fund JST, keeping excess Bitcoin that should have been returned to the account holders. At a current valuation of approximately $77,800 per coin, the disputed assets are worth nearly $495 million.

Central to the complaint is the allegation that BitMEX exercised unfair control over the mechanism determining when leveraged positions were closed. The estate asserts that the exchange profited from its own liquidation procedures, effectively acting as both the platform and the beneficiary of the resulting collateral seizures. These claims mirror a separate proposed class action filed in July by traders who similarly accused the exchange of engineering forced liquidations to bolster its own insurance funds.

This litigation arrives as BitMEX prepares to cease trading operations on September 23. While the exchange has previously settled civil and criminal charges related to anti-money-laundering violations, this new case focuses specifically on the integrity of its trading engine. The allegations remain unproven, and the outcome will depend on findings within the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York as the estate continues its efforts to recover assets for former depositors.