Quoine statement on verdict by Singapore Court of Appeal.
Liquid welcomed part of the decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal whose judgment, released 24th February 2020, confirmed that Quoine Pte Ltd was not in breach of trust in relation to its reversal of certain trades placed by B2C2 on the exchange in April 2017.
We are however disappointed that the court did not entirely accept our arguments that there was no breach of contract on its part in this matter. The appeal court upheld the decision of the lower court that Quoine was in breach of contract for its reversal of automated algorithmic trades placed by B2C2 where a system error on Quoine’s exchange platform allowed B2C2 to enter into Bitcoin / Ethereum trades at a price of 10 Bitcoin for 1 Ethereum, prices which were some 250X away from the then current market on that day.
The appeal court judgment, which was not unanimous, features a dissenting judgment from Lord Jonathan Mance whose opinion is that Quoine should not have been found liable to B2C2 either on breach of trust or breach of contract in these circumstances.
“We are frankly disappointed with this judgment but it will not divert Liquid from its mission to bring the best crypto exchange features for our customers into reality” said Quoine CEO Mike Kayamori.
Potential damages arising out of this decision have yet to be assessed. The final outcome of any such damages assessment remains to be seen. Quoine stands ready to contest any excessive claims by B2C2.
For any further questions or enquiries, please contact legal_global@quoine.com.
