Lawyers for Coinbase have won a month-long filing delay in the digital currency startup’s appeal of a decision in an ongoing lawsuit tied to the now-defunct exchange Cryptsy.
Cryptsy was a Florida-based cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in late 2015 amid allegations of fraud and theft. A class action lawsuit against Cryptsy was filed soon afterward, with a judge in Florida ultimately approving the plaintiffs’ bid to push the exchange into receivership.
The latest twist in that story began in December, when customers charged that Coinbase – which Cryptsy CEO Paul Vernon used to exchange bitcoin for dollars – should have known that the money he was moving was derived from user funds. The plaintiffs argued that approximately $8.3m in funds were allegedly stolen by Vernon in this manner.
In response, Coinbase sought to have the dispute resolved in private arbitration, pointing to agreements signed by Cryptsy and Vernon. But in early June, Judge Kenneth Marra shot down the startup’s request to compel arbitration and stay pre-trial discovery. Less than two weeks later, Coinbase appealed the decision before the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
New court documents show that Coinbase’s lawyers asked for a delay ahead of a July 24 deadline for Coinbase’s appellate brief – which lays out its arguments in the appeal – citing work on other cases.
That request was formally approved on July 12, advancing that deadline to August 23.
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