The bankruptcy estate of Celsius Network filed a lawsuit against BitMEX operators in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on September 12, 2026. The claim seeks $495 million in damages, alleging that the exchange engaged in fraud and market manipulation.
The lawsuit centers on the liquidation of 6,360 Bitcoin during the market crash on March 12, 2020. Celsius claims that BitMEX intentionally designed its liquidation procedures to seize excess customer collateral during periods of high volatility, when Bitcoin prices dropped from $7,200 to $5,678.
The legal action targets five entities: HDR Global Trading Ltd., ABS Global Trading Ltd., Shine Effort Inc. Ltd., 100x Holdings Ltd., and HDR Global Services Ltd. The Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium is representing the Celsius estate as the litigation administrator.
The filing occurs just 11 days before the scheduled permanent shutdown of BitMEX on September 23, 2026. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, reporting liabilities exceeding $5 billion, and received authorization to pursue litigation in late 2023.
