Tether and Bitfinex have emerged victorious in a legal battle as the plaintiffs have withdrawn their appeal, bringing an end to a lawsuit that accused the companies of bank fraud and money laundering. The lawsuit was initially filed by Jason Leibowitz, the Co-founder and CEO of BMA LLC, but was dismissed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain in August. Shawn Dolifka, another plaintiff in the case, has also agreed to cease his appeal, with his legal representation acknowledging that the claims were unsubstantiated.
This legal outcome follows a previous order by Judge Katherine Polk Failla in 2022, which compelled Tether and Bitfinex to provide financial records related to the reserve backing of USDT, Tether’s digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. The order was part of a separate accusation that the companies manipulated the market, an allegation that Bitfinex dismissed as “frivolous.”
In response to the initial lawsuit, Tether published a blog post denouncing the claims as baseless and criticizing what they perceived as opportunistic litigation. The company referred to the accusations as a “sophisticated scheme” that contributed to what they described as “the biggest bubble in human history.”
This resolution is a significant milestone for Tether and Bitfinex, as it removes a cloud of legal uncertainty that had been looming over the companies for years. With the plaintiffs withdrawing their appeal, Tether and Bitfinex can now focus on their operations without the hindrance of this particular legal challenge.
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