A U.S. appeals court has partially overturned an earlier dismissal of a class-action lawsuit against Binance.US. The lawsuit accuses the cryptocurrency exchange of unlawfully manipulating the price of the HEX token.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled on August 12 that the plaintiff, Ryan Cox, had raised valid claims against Binance.US and CoinMarketCap. The panel disagreed with an earlier district court’s dismissal, which had held that Cox had failed to demonstrate a sufficient connection between specific actions in Arizona and Binance.US.

Court of Appeal upholds claims

Cox initially filed the class-action lawsuit in 2021, alleging that Binance Capital Management and Binance.US artificially limited the HEX token’s ranking on CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency price tracking platform owned by Binance.

According to Cox, this manipulation caused HEX to trade at a lower price compared to Binance’s own cryptocurrencies, which were ranked higher.

The district court dismissed the lawsuit in February 2023. The judge concluded that Cox had failed to prove a tangible connection between Binance.US’s activities and the alleged manipulation of HEX in Arizona.

However, the Ninth Circuit panel ruled that the district court’s requirement to establish “sufficient minimum contacts” between Binance.US and Arizona was improper. The appeals court held that the district court had personal jurisdiction over the defendants because they had significant contacts with the broader United States.

US Court Reopens HEX Manipulation Case Against https://t.co/ryPvR1aYUCA US appeals court has reopened a class-action lawsuit against https://t.co/ryPvR1aYUC regarding the HEX token manipulation case, Cointelegraph reports. https://t.co/ryPvR1aYUC was previously accused of…

— CoinNess Global (@CoinnessGL) August 13, 2024

HEX Token Value Drops

The panel noted in its opinion that both Binance.US and CoinMarketCap have sufficient ties to the U.S. by virtue of their incorporation or principal place of business in the country, which satisfies the due process requirements for personal jurisdiction.

The appeals court also found that Cox’s claims of price manipulation against Binance.US were valid. The case was remanded for further legal proceedings.

The HEX token was launched in December 2019 by Richard Heart. On July 31, 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Heart for violating federal securities laws and defrauding investors of at least $12.1 million. The SEC alleged that Heart used investor funds for personal luxury purchases, including a 555-carat diamond, expensive watches, and luxury cars.

Currently, the HEX token is trading at $0.004, down over 99% from its all-time high of $0.51 in September 2021.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder on www.financemagnates.com.