Lawsuit Alleges Tether and Bitfinex Manipulated Cryptocurrency Prices

• Plaintiffs accuse Tether and Bitfinex of manipulating crypto prices through USDT scheme.
• Allegations include fraudulent price inflation and unbacked USDT issuance.
• Violation of CEA and Sherman Antitrust Act claimed by Plaintiffs.
• Amended complaint filed in SDNY, third in ongoing class-action lawsuit.
• Defendants deny allegations, citing lack of evidence supporting claims.
• Plaintiffs include U.S.-based crypto traders in the lawsuit.

Summary :
Plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Tether and Bitfinex have filed an amended complaint accusing the companies of manipulating cryptocurrency prices through a deceptive scheme involving Tether's stablecoin, USDT. The complaint alleges that Tether and Bitfinex executed a scheme to fraudulently inflate the price of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, by making massive purchases to signal high demand. The companies allegedly financed these purchases with billions of dollars in USDT, which was not actually backed by US dollars as claimed. The plaintiffs argue that this violated the Commodities Exchange Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act. The complaint also states that Tether issued USDT without proper backing, resulting in billions of dollars in damages to innocent crypto purchasers. This is the third complaint in the ongoing case, which has faced delays and changes in legal counsel. Tether and Bitfinex have challenged the plaintiffs' request to amend the complaint, stating that there is no evidence supporting the market manipulation scheme alleged. The plaintiffs' attorneys have levied three causes of action against the defendants, including market manipulation and violations of antitrust laws. Tether has dismissed the claims as without merit and remains confident in prevailing in the litigation. The lead plaintiffs in the case are U.S.-based crypto traders, and other civil class action suits have joined the case.

Sources :

- CoinTelegraph
- Coindesk