Alameda Research, a trading firm affiliated with the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, has filed a lawsuit against Grayscale, the world’s largest Bitcoin fund. The lawsuit is on behalf of FTX’s debtors and affiliates, and demands that Grayscale allow redemptions on its Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts. This move could potentially unlock over $9 billion for the trust’s shareholders.
The FTX Debtors have also filed claims against Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein and Digital Currency Group (DCG) CEO Barry Silbert. DCG is the parent company of Grayscale. According to FTX, allowing shareholders to redeem their shares would recover over $250 million in value for FTX’s customers, who have been left in the lurch after the exchange froze withdrawals in November.
“Grayscale has for years hidden behind contrived excuses to prevent shareholders from redeeming their shares,” said a spokesperson for Alameda Research. “This lawsuit is a necessary step to ensure that FTX’s customers and affiliates are able to recover the value that is rightfully theirs.”
Grayscale has not yet responded to the lawsuit, but the company has previously defended its decision to prevent redemptions. In a statement last year, Grayscale said that it was “committed to the long-term success of our products and the digital currency ecosystem as a whole,” and that it would “continue to evaluate the best path forward for our investors.”
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges facing Grayscale. Last year, the company was sued by investors who claimed that it had violated securities laws by selling unregistered securities. Grayscale has denied the allegations and said that it is cooperating with regulators.
