While only first introduced to the world in 2008, cryptocurrency has exploded over recent years from a seedling of an idea into becoming one of the world’s most popular ways to invest. Inspired by promises of deregulation and decentralization – and subsequently, free from the hands of governments or traditional financial institutions – more than 106 million people have reportedly invested in cryptocurrency around the world, a consumer base even larger than the size of Great Britain and Canada’s populations combined.
Despite its incredible popularity, cryptocurrency’s technology and operations are both nascent and still in development, leaving many run-of-the-mill crypto holders with more questions than answers about just how their digital assets are protected. According to a U.S. poll from May 2022, while nearly 99 percent of respondents revealed they have heard of Bitcoin before, only 62 percent of respondents had any understanding of what the leading cryptocurrency actually is and does, and another 82 percent reported some level of confusion on the subject.
A recurring theme at the core of this confusion is crypto’s inherent lack of regulation. While this means purchased assets are theoretically protected from government intervention, it also means victims of fraud, hacking, or a token platform’s business decisions are left without any protection for their investment funds. This is best represented by the massive downfall of supposed stablecoins – aka coins that are tied to fiat currency and purportedly supposed to retain value in perpetuity – Luna and UST earlier this year, which left many investors that were promised investment security with assets worth practically nothing.
For Tibor Nagy, leading trial attorney and partner at New York City law firm Dontzin Nagy LLP, finding justice for mistreated crypto holders has become an integral part of his modern operations. While Nagy’s prowess in court has earned him high-profile clients like America’s oldest bank J.P. Morgan and numerous hedge fund magnates, not to mention a nod to the Benchmark Litigation’s “Under 40 Hot List” and earning the “Elite Boutique Trailblazer” award from the National Law Journal, Nagy looks to use his demonstrable talents to keep the crypto industry within the letter of the law by fighting tooth and nail at trial for his clients.
Recently, Nagy has taken up a major lawsuit against cryptocurrency giant Binance, a platform where consumers across the world can theoretically buy or sell crypto, for its role in the demise of UST and Luna coins. The suit alleges that Binance operated outside of Federal Law by selling both UST and Luna on its platform, claiming that transactions of this nature should’ve been overseen by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and that Binance has been operating as an unregistered and unregulated securities exchange. It likewise points to Binance’s marketing tactics as false advertising due to the use of the words “safe” and “fiat-backed” to promote UST and Luna ahead of the duo’s ultimate crash.
Nagy’s suit is expected to be precedent-setting, as the class action litigation is the first major attempt to fix the financial damage from the UST/Luna meltdown.
Nagy is also pursuing mass arbitrations against other exchanges, including Coinbase.
“Thousands of retail investors lost huge portions of their life savings because centralized exchanges like Binance chose to profit from sales of unregistered securities like UST,” said Nagy. “These exchanges will have to answer for what they’ve done.”
This isn’t Nagy’s first foray into the world of cryptocurrency legal battles, as Nagy has previously represented cryptocurrency companies themselves in the court of law, like ConsenSys, with impactful results.
“With litigation on the rise in our industry, we are lucky to have Tibor Nagy as trusted counsel and friend of ConsenSys,” said Matt Corva, General Counsel at ConsenSys. “If you think of the best solidity developer – that’s how we view Tibor in his field. In the face of rising litigation against companies in our industry, I’d strongly recommend Tibor.”For more on Nagy and his legal expertise, visit his website for further information today.