Chainalysis beats most Celsius claims, but ‘audit’ lawsuit survives
A federal judge dismissed most claims Celsius’s litigation administrator brought against Chainalysis, but allowed one aiding-and-abetting claim to continue. Judge Margaret Garnett found the complaint plausibly alleged that Chainalysis knew a 2020 Celsius press release contained false or misleading statements and helped circulate it. Twelve other claims were dismissed with prejudice, while three consumer-protection claims were dismissed without prejudice and may be amended by Oct. 20. The case stems from Celsius’s 2022 bankruptcy after it froze withdrawals, leaving customers unable to access about $4.7 billion in assets. The suit alleges Chainalysis helped Celsius create and publicize a purported “audit” of about $3.3 billion in assets using Reactor software, despite allegedly knowing the release’s claims of “audit” and “independent verification” were inaccurate.
