The Winklevoss brothers lost a round in court against the ex-BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem who had been sued for taking part of their $750,000 investment into his exchange in 2012 and using it to buy 5,000 bitcoins (then valued at $61,000).
Last month the judge froze Shrem’s assets but lifted that order after the court hearing on Thursday. Shrem claimed that he never owned any bitcoins and asked U.S. District Judge to dismiss the case.
The Winklevoss brothers argued in court that the freeze should continue, drawing attention to Shrem’s recent purchase of a $2 million house and about $12 million investments in real estate holdings, cryptocurrency, and other assets. 5,000 Bitcoins are valued at more than $32 million today.
Shrem’s lawyer said most of his client’s holdings are in real estate and the value of his cryptocurrency investments has "shrunk dramatically" since he made those statements about his assets. He said the lawsuit is a dispute over $61,000, which he agreed to place in escrow should his client lose the case. The lawyer called Thursday’s ruling the first step toward Shrem’s complete vindication.
The next trial is scheduled for June 17.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.