Celsius Network, a bankrupt crypto lender, has filed a lawsuit against entities associated with crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX. With this lawsuit, Celsius is reportedly seeking approximately $495 million in damages. The network claims that this amount is related to the alleged loss of 6,360 $BTC during the March 2020 market crash.

Celsius Targets BitMEX Entities Over 2020 Bitcoin Liquidations

The lawsuit accuses BitMEX-related entities of fraud, market manipulation, and wrongful liquidation practices. The complaint was filed on September 12, 2026, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), which serves as Celsius’ litigation administrator, filed this lawsuit on behalf of Celsius.

The defendants include HDR Global Trading Ltd., ABS Global Trading Ltd., Shine Effort Inc. Ltd., and 100x Holdings Ltd. The entities collectively operated under the BitMEX brand. The claims relate to BitMEX’s handling of leveraged positions during Bitcoin’s sharp decline on March 12, 2020. At the time, Bitcoin fell from around $7,200 to approximately $5,678 within about 15 minutes as financial markets faced heightened volatility during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the complaint, roughly $702 million worth of positions, most of which were long positions, were liquidated on BitMEX during the initial market decline. Celsius alleges that BitMEX’s platform and liquidation procedures were structured in a way that caused customer collateral to be liquidated and resulted in losses.

Lawsuit Filed Ahead of BitMEX Exchange Shutdown

The lawsuit was filed 11 days before BitMEX is scheduled to end its exchange operations. The shutdown is scheduled on September 23, 2026. BitMEX had announced the planned shutdown in July 2026.

Celsius first identified potential claims against HDR Global Trading in a 2023 bankruptcy filing. Those claims included allegations related to negligence, fraud, and market manipulation. This new case will now likely continue even after BitMEX stops its trading operations.