TechFlow news — A U.S. appeals court has recently partially overturned a prior dismissal of a class-action lawsuit accusing Binance.US of manipulating the price of the HEX token. A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiff Ryan Cox’s allegations against Binance.US and CoinMarketCap are legally valid.
Cox filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging that Binance artificially suppressed HEX's ranking on CoinMarketCap, resulting in a lower trading price for the token.
The appellate court found that the lower court had erred in concluding that “sufficient minimum contacts with Arizona” were required, and determined that personal jurisdiction over the U.S.-based defendants is appropriate due to their substantial connections with the United States. The court also deemed Cox’s price manipulation claims plausible, and remanded the case for further proceedings.
Notably, Richard Heart, the founder of the HEX token, was sued by the SEC on July 31, 2023, accused of violating federal securities laws and defrauding investors out of at least $12.1 million. The SEC alleged that Heart used investor funds to purchase personal luxuries rather than for token development and marketing.
Currently, HEX trades at $0.004, down more than 99% from its all-time high of $0.51 in September 2021.
