Celsius Sues BitMEX for $495 Million Over 2020 Liquidations
Celsius, the crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in 2022, had used customer funds for highly speculative leveraged trading, according to investigations into its collapse. The resulting losses became a central issue in efforts to recover assets for creditors. Its latest claim focuses on liquidations during the 2020 market crash, when sharp price swings exposed leveraged crypto traders to substantial losses.
Celsius has sued crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX for $495 million, alleging improper liquidation practices during the 2020 selloff. The complaint seeks to recover losses tied to positions held on the platform and comes as BitMEX prepares to close its exchange. Any proceeds from the case could add to the pool of assets available for distribution through Celsius’s bankruptcy process.
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The history behind this eventCustomers Sue BitMEX for 623 Bitcoin as Exchange Plans Shutdown
Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, BitMEX helped popularize bitcoin perpetual swaps and leverage of as much as 100 times, becoming one of crypto’s most influential derivatives venues. The proposed class action strikes at a central risk in high-leverage trading: whether an exchange can control customer data, platform access and liquidation machinery while taking positions against its users. The allegations are unproven and will be tested in court.
BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar filed the proposed class action on July 23, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They allege an undisclosed “Insider Trading Desk” exploited private account data and server freezes to engineer forced liquidations, costing BKX at least 305.81 BTC and Namdar more than 316.85 BTC — 622.66 BTC in total, valued at about $40.7 million. Hours earlier, BitMEX said a strategic review had led it to close the exchange on Sept. 23 at 04:00 UTC.
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