Florida appeal court reopens $80M lawsuit against Binance over BTC theft

Binance is once again at the center of a legal dispute following a 2022 incident that led to the loss of significant user funds.

Summary

• Florida’s appeal court has reinstated a lawsuit claiming Binance failed to freeze and recover roughly 1,000 BTC stolen in 2022.
• The ruling found Binance maintained sufficient U.S. and Florida contacts through affiliates and infrastructure, overturning a lower court’s dismissal.
• The case returns to trial court, adding pressure on offshore exchanges facing similar negligence and stolen-asset lawsuits.

A Florida appeals court has reopened a long-running dispute involving Binance after finding the case deserves another look.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Dec. 3, the Third District Court of Appeal in Florida has allowed a state-level lawsuit to proceed against Binance for its alleged failure to freeze and recover roughly 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen in 2022.

The renewed case gives the plaintiff a chance to argue that Binance Holdings Inc., despite being based offshore, had enough ties to Florida to allow the lawsuit to move forward through local courts. 

The lower court had dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction but the appeals court found that Binance’s U.S.-facing affiliates and its reliance on U.S. infrastructure created sufficient legal grounds to sue in Miami-Dade County.

The origins of the suit and what’s at stake

The lawsuit began when the plaintiff, identified as Michael Osterer, reported an $80 million theft after hackers withdrew about 1,000 BTC from his wallet. He claims that before Binance stepped in, the hackers converted and withdrew the stolen money from a Binance account. 

Osterer argues the exchange was negligent, breached its contract, and aided in laundering stolen property by not freezing user funds as soon as the theft was reported. He wants to get the entire amount he lost back plus interest.

Back in 2023, Osterer filed a class-action case on behalf of others whose assets had been stolen and allegedly laundered through Binance. While a related federal money laundering case was recently moved to Florida’s Southern District, the current ruling focuses on Osterer’s own claims under state law. 

The appeals court explicitly rejected Binance’s argument that it lacked a physical presence in Florida, ruling that Amazon Web Services hosting and Binance’s U.S. operations count as valid contacts for jurisdiction.

What this could mean for crypto lawsuits nationwide

With this decision, other plaintiffs may feel encouraged to revive similar state-level suits against exchanges. Binance has already faced numerous lawsuits this year claiming the company failed to secure or freeze stolen assets. The ruling may undermine offshore exchanges’ past reliance on jurisdictional defenses.

Binance may appeal the decision or push for arbitration, as it has in other disputes. The case now returns to the trial court, where the merits, negligence, contract breach, and recovery of stolen funds, will once again be argued.