Is this the first time a judgement like this has been made? I can't think of any other equivalent.
not a judgment. this didn't go to trial. it took years of litigation before they settled though. i wish they did go to trial---it would be a lot more informative re precedent.
I really wish they did as well. There's just too much knowledge to be had in this case that could potentially change the landscape for future cases such as this. I guess Coinbase only did it for the money without even thinking of the possible legal implications of their actions.
Pretty sure they did, just not sure whether they would turn down the money or risk the possible legal implications.
as i read it, the claim was mostly based on the notion that coinbase should have known the source of vernon/cryptsy's bitcoins were illegitimate. in other words, they didn't do enough AML/KYC. vernon told them the source of funds = crypsty's revenues and his personal holdings/mining output. the plaintiffs' primary claim was that it should have been obvious vernon was selling too much bitcoin for that to be true.
Why would an exchange like Coinbase operate as if they don't know the protocol and proper procedures for AML/KYC? Guess as long as you have the weight and you have the proper connections and exposure the crypto market, KYC/AML regulations wouldn't matter much to you, or you wouldn't be subject to thorough investigation/checks like they do on the normal traders.
And the volume speaks for itself, too, just like what the plaintiffs' notion to the case is. At the least, it should have rang the bells
a little for Coinbase.
this case was more about breach of fiduciary duty and negligence. the first thing that comes to mind for me is quadrigaCX's accounts at kraken.
https://twitter.com/jespow/status/1091863628066770944the parallel to this case would be,
what due diligence should kraken have done on quadrigaCX's accounts? why did those accounts exist at all?Up to now, QuadrigaCX's case is still pretty vague and quite sketchy to me. Why would those accounts even exist on Kraken and whoever did that must have had a time machine to know that the CEO who holds the funds would die, and would die of a disease WHICH ISN'T EVEN TERMINAL. I guess that's a different case with pretty interesting points to consider IMO.