The lawsuit against Chainalysis by Celsius Network continues to unfold. U.S. federal court judge Margaret Garnett upheld the aiding and abetting claim related to the disputed $3.3 billion Celsius audit. In her decision published on Tuesday, she dismissed 15 other claims but allowed one to proceed. The remaining claim asserts that Chainalysis assisted Celsius insiders in breaching their fiduciary duties. Judge Garnett denied Chainalysis's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, noting that the claim convincingly alleged that Chainalysis was aware of false statements in Celsius's 2020 press release and facilitated their dissemination.
The court also dismissed 12 other claims with prejudice, preventing plaintiffs from amending these claims. Three consumer protection claims were dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiffs must amend these claims by October 20 or inform the court if they do not plan to do so. Celsius, a crypto lender, filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 amid the crypto market crash. A month earlier, it froze withdrawals, leaving users without access to approximately $4.7 billion in assets. The lawsuit against Chainalysis is part of efforts to recover funds for creditors.
In 2020, Celsius engaged Chainalysis to calculate its assets under management using Reactor software and later publicly announced the results as an audit. According to the lawsuit, a Celsius executive initially estimated the assets at $1.18 billion before methodological changes increased this amount to $3.3 billion. A December 9, 2020 press release announced an "audit" confirming around $3.3 billion in Celsius assets, based on transactions, total deposits, and total withdrawals since Celsius's launch in 2018. The lawsuit claims that Chainalysis helped draft, edit, and approve this release, knowing that describing the work as an "audit" and "independent verification" was false or materially misleading. The allegations have yet to be proven, and Chainalysis sought to have the lawsuit dismissed entirely.
The lawsuit was filed by the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC) – the liquidation administrator and recovery manager for Celsius, acting on behalf of the company and several former clients.
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