Coinbase’ Bitcoin Cash Nightmare Is Back As Insider Trading Lawsuit

Users who filed a class action lawsuit against Coinbase, the United States crypto exchange, will now go to court on 31 January 2019, new court documents submitted on 20 November confirm.

The lawsuit that Jeffery Berk filed earlier this year to deal with alleged Bitcoin Cash (BCH) trading among Coinbase officials in October failed to bring it to trial. District Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed the claims of Berk because he did not “describe the scope or content of the duty of Coinbase.”

A modified version of the complaint now focuses on the allegedly erroneous exchange of its own listing rules.

The new filing reads “The sudden launch (of BCH) was effectively part of an attack by Coinbase and (CEO Brian Armstrong) to depress the price of BTC and to inflate the price of BCH, to encourage more transactions and greater profitability for Coinbase.”

Coinbase shall respond before the initial hearing in January by 20 December. In September, Chhabria claimed that Coinbase had “bungled” the BCH rollout, but considered throwing out Berk’s lawsuit with permission to amend it. The company carried out an internal investigation into insider trading in July and concluded that no such activity had occurred.

The latest charges add to the pile of negative publicity that BCH is also facing after its disagreeable hard fork November 15 triggered major market instability and a chain split.

The latest charges add to the negative advertising pile that BCH also faces the fact that its disputed range and duration on 15 November caused significant market volatility and the channel split. The effect of the divergence of the altcoin into two competing cryptocurrencies continues, with one, Bitcoin Cash SV, falling to just $32 November 21 after reorganization of the blockchain.