A Florida scam victim will get a second chance to pursue legal action against Binance Holdings Inc. after a state appeals court ruled that a lawsuit over the alleged theft of $80 million worth of Bitcoin can move forward.
According to Bloomberg Law, the Florida Third District Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a lower court incorrectly determined it lacked personal jurisdiction over Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
The decision revives a state-level civil lawsuit filed by a user who claims Binance failed to freeze stolen crypto assets in a timely manner, allowing the funds to disappear.
The plaintiff alleges that scammers gained access to his Bitcoin holdings on Binance and transferred roughly $80 million in BTC off the platform.
The lawsuit claims that when the theft was reported, Binance did not place an immediate freeze on the crypto, despite being notified and given transaction details. By the time any response came, the funds were allegedly gone and unrecoverable.
The trial court initially dismissed the case, concluding that Binance did not have sufficient business ties in Florida to be sued there.
The appeals court disagreed, saying the plaintiff made a plausible argument that Binance actively conducts operations connected to Florida users and can therefore be held accountable through the state’s legal system.
The ruling does not determine liability or whether Binance broke any laws, but it means the case will return to the trial court, where discovery, hearings, and potential evidence gathering can proceed. The decision could have broader implications, particularly for global crypto exchanges that operate in multiple jurisdictions while attempting to limit their legal exposure in the United States.
Binance has faced mounting legal scrutiny over the last two years from regulators, including a high-profile federal case involving alleged compliance failures.
In this latest dispute, a Florida court will now evaluate whether the exchange bears responsibility for failing to secure assets belonging to a customer who says he was the victim of a sophisticated crypto scam.