A US federal judge has dismissed most of the claims brought by the Celsius Network estate against Chainalysis, but one claim will continue.
The surviving claim alleges that Chainalysis aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty by Celsius insiders.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett, in a ruling issued Tuesday, denied Chainalysis’ motion to dismiss that aiding-and-abetting claim. She found that the complaint sufficiently alleged Chainalysis knew a 2020 Celsius press release contained false statements and helped disseminate them.
The judge dismissed 12 other claims with prejudice, preventing the plaintiffs from amending those claims in this case.
Three consumer-protection claims were dismissed without prejudice. The plaintiffs have until Oct. 20 to amend those claims or tell the court they will not do so.
The lawsuit is part of Celsius estate recovery efforts
Celsius, a crypto lender, filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 during the crypto market crash. A month earlier, it froze withdrawals, leaving customers unable to access about $4.7 billion in assets.
The lawsuit against Chainalysis is part of the estate’s effort to recover funds for creditors.
Chainalysis told Cointelegraph it was unable to comment. Celsius’ litigation administrator had not responded before publication.
The case focuses on a disputed $3.3 billion “audit”
The dispute centers on a 2020 Celsius announcement described as an audit.
That year, Celsius hired Chainalysis to help calculate its assets under management using Chainalysis Reactor software. Celsius later publicized the result as an audit.
According to the complaint, as summarized by the court, a Celsius executive initially calculated about $1.18 billion in assets using Reactor. After changes to the methodology, that figure rose to roughly $3.3 billion.
A Dec. 9, 2020 press release announced an “audit” confirming about $3.3 billion in Celsius assets using Chainalysis Reactor. The release said the figure was based on transactions, total deposits and total withdrawals since Celsius launched the service in 2018.
The complaint alleges Chainalysis helped draft, edit and approve the release, and knew that describing the work as an “audit” and “independent verification” was false or materially misleading.
Those allegations have not been proven. Chainalysis had asked the court to dismiss the complaint in full.
Who brought the lawsuit
The lawsuit was brought by Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium, or BRIC. It serves as litigation administrator and recovery manager for the Celsius estate and is pursuing claims on behalf of Celsius and certain former customers.