Half of the class action claims brought against Tether (the issuing company behind Tether tokens USDt) and Bitfinex by plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit have been dismissed by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Katherine Polk Failla also dismissed Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), claims.
The Court granted motions both to Bitfinex and Tether to discredit claims that they were involved in manipulation of crypto markets.
“Even for the remaining claims the Court’s Order raises substantial issues which will eventually be fatal for the plaintiffs’ case. Their case has been dismissed for half, their primary expert discredited, and their leading law firm involved in an internal war with its partners and ex-partners trading accusations of fraud and ethics violations. This case is doomed. It is not surprising, given the meritlessness of plaintiffs’ claims,” Tether stated in a press release that was released through its official website.
Claims – Deficiencies
Tether stated that Judge Failla had exposed “many shortcomings” in plaintiffs’ claims and that the decision was made in this respect. Judge Failla stated that Bitfinex and Tether investors couldn’t adequately defend their monopoly over the stablecoin markets they had been claiming. In October 2019, a complaint was filed alleging that iFinex had manipulated the crypto market through issuing Tether’s USDt. This helped to create a bubble’ in the crypto commodity markets.
Tether and Bitfinex look forward to litigating the case, and they will not settle any of the unfounded claims of plaintiffs. Tether stated that litigation will expose the case as it is, a clumsy attempt to grab money which recklessly harms all cryptocurrency ecosystems.
Tether adoption continues to spread in other news. Dukascopy announced this month it had made account funding possible via Tether (USDT), and raised its deposit limits using cryptocurrencies.
