BitMEX's former CEO Arthur Hayes and the exchange itself have settled with their early investors Amato and Capone for about $44 million in cash and equity, Pavel Pogodin wrote on Twitter.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
However, by settling the case Hayes and BitMEX are trying to destroy evidence so that no one can see, Pogodin believes.
"The settlement took place shortly after highly incriminating evidence was discovered by investors' lawyers. Some of that evidence got into court records. Arthur's lawyers are now trying to strike it from public file," he added.
Pogodin emphasizes the same evidence is highly relevant to four cases that 'Consensus Law' has filed against BitMEX and Hayes in state and federal courts in California.
"Sudden settlement establishes that this is a smoking gun type of evidence," he points out.
In November 2020, a BitMEX spokesperson told The Block that Pogodin of 'Consensus Law' continues to file "spurious claims" against the exchange, and others in the cryptocurrency sector.
"As we have said before, regrettably, Mr. Pogodin operates just like a patent troll, filing 'copy and paste' complaints against us based on rehashed information culled from the internet. We will deal with this through the normal litigation process and remain entirely confident the courts will see his claims for what they are."
In December 2019, BitMEX's early investors Frank Amato, RGB Coin Ltd. and Elfio Guido Capone collectively sued the exchange for $540 million. Frank Amato was the first seed funder of BitMEX. According to the lawsuit, Hayes and BitMEX induced Amato's investment by promising to convert it into equity upon BitMEX's first fundraising event.
However, Hayes and BitMEX failed to honor those promises. The investment was made back in June 2015 when BitMEX had only few resources of funding.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.