CLAIMS & DISPUTES - Crypto Legal

We support individuals, businesses, and institutional clients in addressing a broad range of legal issues arising from blockchain technology and digital assets.

We provide legal advice and representation in relation to a wide range of blockchain-related matters, including:

• Securities and consumer claims involving misleading or unlawful digital asset offerings
• Disputes with cryptocurrency exchanges, including withdrawal restrictions and locked accounts
• Breach of contract in token sale agreements, trading platforms, and digital asset service arrangements
• Data breach and unauthorised access claims involving custodial wallets and exchanges
• NFT-related claims, including fraudulent listings, unauthorised minting and IP misuse
• Recovery of frozen or inaccessible assets, including assets held by insolvent platforms
• Claims involving unjustified chargebacks, reversed transactions or loss of funds during transfers
• Regulatory advisory concerning asset classification, compliance obligations, and risk exposure

BACKGROUND

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash and Zcash have seen significant growth over the past decade. By the end of 2017, Bitcoin’s market capitalisation exceeded USD 100 billion, surpassing several global financial institutions. Despite this expansion, the crypto market remains highly volatile, legally fragmented and often poorly regulated.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets traded across online platforms in exchange for fiat currencies such as GBP, EUR or USD, or used directly for goods and services. Their decentralised nature means they operate without a central administrator or statutory protection framework, leaving users exposed to fraud, loss and non-performance without traditional legal safeguards.

Legal disputes in the cryptocurrency sector are increasing rapidly. Losses often arise from mismanagement by exchanges, hacking incidents, withdrawal restrictions, insolvencies, misleading investment schemes, and platform-level operational failures.

CRYPTOCURRENCY CLAIMS AND DISPUTES

We assist clients facing a wide range of exchange-related disputes. These include unauthorised access, blocked or suspended withdrawals, account restrictions following source of funds requests, refusal to process transactions, misapplication of terms and conditions, delays in KYC or account verification, trading execution errors, and locked or frozen accounts without explanation.

Many exchanges impose opaque or inconsistent requirements related to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. This often results in the freezing of accounts pending submission of documentation such as source of funds declarations, transaction histories or third-party confirmations. We assist clients in responding to these requests, challenging disproportionate demands, and negotiating the release of frozen assets or blocked withdrawals.

In other cases, clients experience unexplained account closures, unfair contract terms, or misleading platform conduct, particularly in relation to promotional incentives or token listings. We support recovery strategies involving direct negotiation, regulatory complaints or structured engagement with the platform’s legal representatives.

We act in disputes involving major exchanges including:

Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, KuCoin, Bitfinex, OKX, Huobi, Gate.io, Gemini, Crypto.com, Bittrex, Bitstamp, BitMart, Poloniex, Coincheck, Luno, CoinEx, HitBTC, Paymium, Liquid and Bybit.

If your funds are frozen or your access has been restricted without lawful justification, we can help determine your legal position and pursue a recovery strategy aligned with the exchange’s regulatory profile and jurisdiction.

TOKEN CLAIMS AND SECURITIES DISPUTES

We also advise clients who participated in initial coin offerings (ICOs), token sales or pre-launch distributions and believe they were misled. In such cases, we assess whether the tokens issued meet the definition of unregistered securities and whether the issuer breached disclosure or compliance obligations.

Unregistered and fraudulently marketed tokens continue to cause significant investor loss. We advise clients on possible recovery, enforcement options, and regulatory engagement depending on jurisdiction and offering structure.

BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY CLAIM SUPPORT

In cases where platforms have formally entered insolvency, administration or liquidation, we support clients in asserting their claims, liaising with appointed administrators, and seeking recovery of held assets. We monitor proceedings, assist with claim submissions, and clarify legal entitlements based on account documentation, transaction records and asset type.

We currently assist clients in proceedings involving entities such as:

CoinLoan, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX, Babel Finance, Core Scientific, Genesis Global Capital, Hodlnaut, Blockchain Global, Mt. Gox, QuadrigaCX, Zipmex, Vauld, Cred, FCoin, BitGrail, Cointed GmbH, Cryptopia, Nuri, Dasset, Bittrex US, Bittrex Global, Txbit, Bitfront, Mine Digital, Einstein Exchange, Thodex and ACX.io.

We review each claim against platform records, assist with legal documentation, and help clients understand their creditor status, potential distributions and recovery timeline. In many cases, claims may be enhanced through supporting evidence such as fiat on-ramp records, internal wallet transfers, or proof of purchase.

OUR CLIENTS

We represent a broad range of clients across the digital asset and Web3 ecosystem. This includes retail investors, high-net-worth individuals, developers, technology platforms, OTC desks, lenders, custodians, and early-stage blockchain ventures.

CONCLUSION

The evolving legal and regulatory framework governing digital assets creates real risk for users, particularly in the absence of central oversight or investor protections. Proactive legal advice is essential in protecting crypto-related interests, especially when platforms freeze assets, suspend services or collapse altogether.

We offer pragmatic, jurisdiction-aware legal support in high-value cryptocurrency disputes and claims. Whether your assets are locked in an exchange, tied up in an insolvency process, or subject to a platform-level investigation, we can help clarify your rights and develop a recovery strategy.

Our Process

1. Planning The Case

Effective case management initiates with a comprehensive agreement between our solicitors and clients, establishing clear outcome objectives. We prioritize transparent communication, ensuring our clients are informed about the feasibility of meeting their expectations within an acceptable cost framework.

Just as a well-planned journey is essential, addressing claims and disputes related to cryptocurrencies requires a robust roadmap. Our approach is designed to be flexible, allowing for seamless adaptation to changes in strategy as the case unfolds, ensuring a dynamic and strategic resolution process.

2. Evaluate Situation

We will review your documents and other available evidence relevant to the matter, and prepare a written preliminary assessment of how the documents and other evidence might affect the outcome objectives, including the laws or regulations that most likely would govern the case.

3. File The Case

Resolving legal matters through settlement frequently offers more advantages than opting for litigation, with the exception of unusual cases. Unless the client strongly opposes settlement or there are compelling business, personal, or strategic reasons to defer or avoid settlement, a collaborative effort between the client and solicitor is essential to devise a plan for a good faith settlement attempt at the earliest opportunity.

Following the completion of the Preliminary Case Assessment, or even earlier if deemed suitable, our solicitors proactively suggest strategies for structuring a settlement proposal. This approach significantly improves the likelihood of attaining both outcome and cost objectives through settlement, underscoring our dedication to efficient and effective legal resolution.

Expert Guidance

Our clients benefit from expert guidance across the legal spectrum of the blockchain. Legal cases often require the assistance of lawyers with not just specialist knowledge and years of expertise but also sensitivity, understanding and assertiveness. Our lawyers will work with you to achieve the best results possible, while always treating your case with the individual focus it requires.

Data Protection

Data security is always an important part of our business. We are entrusted with highly sensitive information which needs for effective data security. We focus on ensuring our clients maximise data value, while addressing global data privacy requirements and proactively reducing security risk to protect clients when their future is on the line.

We Take Care

We monitor the progress of your claim or dispute, coordinate the legal process and ensure that there is a consistency of instructions and advice to our clients handled by our legal team.