Binance US and CoinMarketCap face renewed class-action lawsuit over alleged Hex token manipulation

A US appeals court has partially reversed the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit targeting Binance.US, the American branch of the global Binance exchange, according to a court document dated Aug. 12 released recently .

The court determined that the plaintiff, Ryan Cox, had legitimate grounds for legal action against both Binance.US and CoinMarketCap regarding claims that the cryptocurrency platforms artificially influenced the price of the Hex token.

The lawsuit

In 2021, Cox initiated a class-action lawsuit against Binance Capital Management and Binance.US, alleging that they manipulated HEX’s position on CoinMarketCap—a digital asset price tracking platform owned by Binance.

Cox asserted that HEX was “the top-performing cryptocurrency in 2020.” He claimed that the defendants intentionally lowered HEX’s value for their own financial gain while simultaneously boosting the value of other cryptocurrencies.

In February 2023, a district court judge dismissed the case, arguing that Cox had not sufficiently demonstrated a direct link between Binance.US’s actions and Arizona, where the lawsuit was filed.

However, the appellate court overturned this ruling. It recognized that the district court had the authority to hear the case against the defendants due to their significant presence within the US. The judges stated:

“The judges determined that the US defendants could be sued in the American courts because they had significant ties to the United States, fulfilling the requirements for due process.”

Price manipulation

Furthermore, the appellate court validated Cox's accusations of price manipulation against Binance.US and returned the case for continued legal proceedings. The decision stated:

“The judges also concluded that the lawsuit presented plausible allegations of price manipulation against the US defendants. Therefore, they overturned the lower court's dismissal of the claims under the Act against these defendants and sent the case back for further hearings.”

HEX is a digital asset launched in 2019 by Richard Heart . Since its launch, it has been the subject of several controversies and labeled a security token by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Heart has also faced legal action for breaking federal securities laws and deceiving investors of at least $12.1 million.