While crypto adoption is spreading across the globe, companies operating in the industry have increasingly become the target of class-action lawsuits.
According to a recent report from economic and financial consulting firm Cornerstone, the number of class-action lawsuits opened against crypto firms in the first half of 2025 has nearly matched last year’s total.
Investors are still holding crypto firms accountable despite the 180-degree turn in enforcement attitudes from US financial regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Cornerstone’s findings just represent securities-related class-action suits. Crypto firms are also facing class actions related to consumer protection and fraud. Some of these firms have even touched high-level politicians like the president of Argentina.
Here are six major crypto cases that made headlines in the first half of 2025.
Bakkt accused of violating securities law
American cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt, which is headquartered in Georgia and New York, is facing a class-action lawsuit in which the plaintiffs claim the exchange made false or misleading statements and failed to disclose certain information.
Filed on April 2, lead plaintiff Guy Serge A. Franklin called for a jury trial for Bakkt, senior adviser and former CEO Gavin Michael, CEO and president Andrew Main and interim chief financial officer Karen Alexander.
The plaintiffs allege that Bakkt violated US securities laws and lacked transparency around the loss of Bank of America and Webull as clients.
The filing claimed there would be a “73% loss in top-line revenue,” as Webull made up 74% of Bakkt’s crypto services revenue from 2023 and 2024, and Bank of America made up 17% of its loyalty services revenue from January to September 2024.
Bakkt “misrepresented the stability and/or diversity of its crypto services revenue,” per the complaint.
Coinbase faces class action on multiple fronts
Major American crypto exchange Coinbase and some of its executives are facing several class actions in multiple states.
In February, Coinbase shareholder Wenduo Guo filed a complaint in a federal court in New Jersey, accusing the exchange of failing to disclose that customer assets can be considered part of Coinbase’s bankruptcy estate, which makes retail customers unsecured creditors.
The complaint noted the slew of exchange collapses before Coinbase’s public listing in 2021 that left investors high and dry. It claimed that, despite statements from Coinbase, the exchange is no different.
In May, more cases were filed, alleging that Coinbase had violated biometric privacy law in the state of Illinois. Plaintiffs Scott Bernstein, Gina Greeder and James Lonergan claimed in the May 13 lawsuit filed in a federal court that the exchange’s “wholesale collection” of faceprints for its Know Your Customer requirements violates the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
“Coinbase does not publicly provide a retention schedule or guidelines for permanently destroying Plaintiffs’ biometric identifiers as specified by BIPA,” they stated.
On May 15, Coinbase announced that cybercriminals had bribed overseas support agents to leak customer data and help facilitate cyber engineering attacks on clients. Initial estimates put remediation and reimbursement expenses between $180 million and $400 million.
The breach resulted in at least six lawsuits filed against Coinbase just days after the incident. On May 22, Coinbase investor Brady Nessler claimed that the breach led to “significant losses and damages” for stockholders.
Strategy’s Bitcoin strategy is under legal scrutiny
Strategy, the software company-cum-Bitcoin investment vehicle headed by Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist Michael Saylor, was hit with a class-action lawsuit in mid-May.
According to an SEC filing, the class-action suit alleged that Strategy and its executives “made false and/or misleading statements with respect to and/or failed to disclose information with respect to the anticipated profitability of our bitcoin-focused investment strategy and treasury operations.”
The May 16 filing came days before Strategy acquired 7,390 BTC for $764.9 million at an average price of around $103,500.
LIBRA coin faces investor ire
In one of the more odd cases in crypto this year, LIBRA, the token project that received support from Argentine President Javier Milei, faces a class-action suit from disgruntled investors.
LIBRA, which was initially hawked as a blockchain project that would spur economic development in Argentina, was part of the memecoin frenzy that defined crypto in the early days of 2025.
The token’s value skyrocketed after its initial February release and a supportive tweet from Milei, which was subsequently deleted and then denied as the LIBRA price
cointelegraph.com