UK Court Hands Binance a Win in Pivotal BSV Delisting Battle—Crypto Exchanges Breathe Easier

In a ruling that could set precedent for crypto asset classifications, a British court sided with Binance over its controversial delisting of Bitcoin SV (BSV). The decision dodges what many feared would become a regulatory minefield for exchanges.

Judges rejected claims that the delisting harmed BSV investors—effectively affirming exchanges’ rights to make judgment calls on questionable assets. No word yet on whether Craig Wright’s legal team will appeal (though let’s be honest—they probably will).

The verdict lands as regulators globally tighten scrutiny on crypto listings. Exchanges now have clearer legal footing to axe tokens that smell even faintly of securities... or in BSV’s case, outright farce. Another win for ’market self-regulation’—Wall Street bankers must be seething.

In brief

• The UK Court of Appeal partially dismissed a $11.9 billion lawsuit against Binance.
• Plaintiffs claimed a loss of opportunity for gains related to the potential growth of crypto.
• The Court reminded that investors had a duty to mitigate their losses by reallocating their funds.
• This decision strengthens individual responsibility in crypto investments and could set a precedent.

A Strategic Legal Victory for Binance

On May 21, 2025, the UK Court of Appeal ruled against a class action filed by Bitcoin SV (BSV) investors targeting Binance, Kraken, ShapeShift, and Bittylicious. Similar to another recent action filed against Strategy for lack of transparency towards crypto investors, this lawsuit sought to hold major industry players accountable for losses suffered by crypto holders.

These platforms were accused of causing major financial damage by delisting the crypto in April 2019. Plaintiffs were seeking 8.9 billion pounds sterling (about 11.9 billion dollars) in alleged losses.

Here are the key points in the decision :

• Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos stated that “BSV was obviously not a unique crypto without reasonably similar substitutes”. He cited Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as credible alternatives ;
• The Court held that investors have “a duty to mitigate their losses”, meaning to sell or reinvest in other assets to limit impact ;
• The so-called “market mitigation” rule was applied, specifying that losses must be assessed shortly after the market event, here the crypto’s delisting from platforms.

In substance, the Court considered that plaintiffs could not claim compensation based on a speculative projection of future bitcoin SV performance. The judges emphasized that legal tools cannot be used to guarantee hypothetical profits in such an uncertain market.

A Strong Signal for Volatile Markets

The other crucial point in the case concerned the legal notion of “loss of chance”, i.e., the theoretical possibility of benefiting from future gains. Thus, plaintiffs argued that by delisting BSV, platforms caused them to lose a financial opportunity comparable to that offered by major cryptos like BTC or BCH.

Again, the Court was categorical. It declared that this approach was “fundamentally flawed in principle”, adding that “cryptos are, by nature, volatile investments”.

The Court also reaffirmed that even if some investors were not immediately aware of the BSV delisting, their legal recourse was strictly limited.

At best, they could claim compensation equal to the value of their initial investment before delisting, plus direct and quantifiable losses, but certainly not hypothetical unrealized profits.

This distinction introduces potentially structuring case law. Jurisdictions could now consider that speculation on the future performance of a crypto asset does not constitute legally reparable harm.

This decision could have consequences far beyond the BSV case. By invalidating the speculative basis of the complaint, British justice reinforces the principle of individual investor responsibility when faced with factors amplifying falls in the case of crypto market volatility. It could also serve as a reference in other ongoing disputes, notably those opposing exchanges to users harmed by delistings or perceived manipulations.

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