Resolving Crypto Disputes through Arbitration: the Binance Case Before the Honk Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC)

Santaolalla Montoya, C. (2024) Resolving crypto disputes through arbitration: the Binance case before the Honk Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC). The Law. Mediación y arbitraje, 2024, no 18, p. 9.

30 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2024

See all articles by Cayetana Santaolalla

Cayetana Santaolalla

Public University of Navarra (UPNA); European Law Institute (ELI); European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL)

Date Written: February 15, 2024

Abstract

On April 19, 2021, with the crash that occurred in the crypto world, the Binance exchange stopped working for 4 hours. This caused that many of its clients, who were leveraged in their position, could not enter to improve their positions, so that after the technical failure of Binance, they entered and found their accounts empty. To claim for the damage caused by the platform's failure, they could only go to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Chamber (HKIAC), because this was established in the contract clauses of the platform itself. Going to the HKIAC represents having to make an individual outlay of $65,000 to initiate the procedure, which makes it very costly for users. This article analyzes the clauses in the Exchange contracting, arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, the procedural measure of the class action, and the particularities of Binance as a legal entity from the perspective of private international law.

Keywords: Binance, HKIAC, Hong Kong, cryptocurrencies, crypto, bitcoin, arbitration, class action

JEL Classification: K33, K21

Suggested Citation

Santaolalla, Cayetana, Resolving Crypto Disputes through Arbitration: the Binance Case Before the Honk Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC) (February 15, 2024). Santaolalla Montoya, C. (2024) Resolving crypto disputes through arbitration: the Binance case before the Honk Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC). The Law. Mediación y arbitraje, 2024, no 18, p. 9. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4826015

Cayetana Santaolalla (Contact Author)

Public University of Navarra (UPNA) ( email )

Campus Arrosadía
Pamplona, Navarra 31006
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://www.unavarra.es/

European Law Institute (ELI) ( email )

Schottenring 16, Top 175
Vienna, 1010
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.europeanlawinstitute.eu

European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL) ( email )

4 Rue Alphonse Weicker
Luxembourg

HOME PAGE: http://https://eapil.org/

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