Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is facing a lawsuit from nearly 1,700 UK investors who allege the company offered high-risk derivative products to retail traders without authorization from the UK's financial regulator.
The claim, filed at the UK High Court on Monday by 1,692 investors, names Binance and its billionaire co-founder Changpeng Zhao as defendants.
The claimants allege that in late 2019 and 2020, the exchange sold products it was not authorized to sell under the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act. Lawyers representing the claimants say they are seeking damages of up to £150 million.
The lawsuit adds to a series of legal challenges and regulatory problems Binance has faced in multiple countries over the years. UK authorities have banned the exchange since 2021.
A Swedish court has ordered Google to pay Klarna nearly $2 billion in damages for lost revenue from the fintech's price comparison service, PriceRunner, after determining that the search engine gave preferential treatment to its own comparison service.
The payout, which includes nearly $500 million in accrued interest, is the largest ever granted in a Swedish antitrust case. However, it falls short of the roughly $8 billion in compensation Klarna had sought, according to the court.
The case concerns Google's conduct in the UK, Swedish, and Danish markets for PriceRunner between 2008 and 2023; PriceRunner had argued that Google favored its own price comparison service over competitors in search results.
Klarna, a Swedish fintech that primarily offers short-term, interest-free loans, acquired PriceRunner in 2022 to build a shopping app and drive traffic to retailers. Klarna generates revenue from its interest-free loans by charging retailers fees.