Coinbase Settlement
Leidel et al. v. Coinbase, Inc.

If you were a CRYPTSY account holder and are unable to access your CRYPTOCURRENCY, you could get money from this class action settlement against COINBASE, INC.

Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. Read the Notice carefully.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT
DO NOTHING	If you did not make a claim in the Cryptsy case, or if you made a claim in the Cryptsy Case that was rejected, and you do nothing in the Coinbase Settlement, you will not get a payment from this settlement. You give up your rights to ever recover from Coinbase for the legal claims in this case if the settlement is approved. If you made a claim in the Cryptsy Case that was approved and paid, you do not have to take any action. Your Cryptsy claim will be deemed approved and will be paid if this settlement is approved.	Deadline: April 12, 2019
EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT	Get no payment from the settlement. This is the only way that you can file your own lawsuit or ever be part of any other lawsuit about the legal claims in this case against Coinbase.	Deadline: March 13, 2020
SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM FOR YOUR SHARE OF THE SETTLEMENT	If you did not submit a claim in the Cryptsy Case or if your claim in the Cryptsy Case was rejected, the only way to receive money from the settlement when the funds are distributed is by submitting a claim form in this Coinbase Case by April 13, 2020. Click Here to Submit a Claim Form online. Click Here to download a Claim Form.	Deadline: April 13, 2020
OBJECT TO OR COMMENT ON THE SETTLEMENT	Following the instructions in Question 23 on the Notice, write to the Court about why you like or do not like the settlement by no later than March 13, 2020. You may also ask to speak to the Court about your written comments or objections about the fairness of the settlement at the “Fairness Hearing” on April 17, 2020, though you do not have to do so. To comment on or object to the settlement and request to speak at the “Fairness Hearing,” you must act before March 13, 2020.	Deadline: March 13, 2020
GO TO THE COURT’S FAIRNESS HEARING ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT	If you would like, you may ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the settlement if you follow the instructions in Question 23 of the Notice. You do not need to speak to the Court to receive benefits under the settlement.	Deadline: March 13, 2020

These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained in more detail in the Notice.

On December 13, 2016, Plaintiff filed this class action against Coinbase on behalf of himself and on behalf of account holders in a cryptocurrency exchange known as “Cryptsy”. Cryptsy operated an online business for customers to exchange, invest, and trade in digital cryptocurrencies, such as “Bitcoin” and “Litecoin.” Cryptsy customers, including Plaintiff and the Class, deposited their digital currency in accounts held at, and purportedly protected and managed by, Cryptsy. In the Cryptsy Case, Plaintiffs alleged that Cryptsy and its founder, Paul Vernon, acted unlawfully by denying the Class the ability to withdraw or use the funds in their accounts and by stealing for their own use and benefit the digital currency held in the Cryptsy customer accounts. A settlement was reached in the Cryptsy Case, which was approved by the same Court presiding over this Coinbase Case.

The Coinbase Case alleges that Coinbase unlawfully aided and abetted the conduct of Cryptsy and Vernon by allowing them to have accounts on the Coinbase platform or that Coinbase was negligent by, for example, failing to employ proper due diligence and other supervisory procedures over the accounts that Cryptsy and Vernon controlled on the Coinbase platform. The Coinbase Case also alleges that Cryptsy and Vernon used their accounts on the Coinbase platform to convert to U.S. Dollars the cryptocurrency that Cryptsy and Vernon allegedly stole from the Cryptsy account holders who are the Class Members in this lawsuit. Plaintiff alleged that Coinbase knew or should have known that Cryptsy and Vernon were engaged in such unlawful conduct, and assisted Cryptsy and Vernon by allowing them to open and maintain accounts on the Coinbase platform.

Coinbase denied these allegations, and contended that it did not know about any of the alleged theft, did not have any reason to know of the alleged theft, and did not have any legal responsibility for the alleged actions of Cryptsy and Vernon.

Background

• On December 13, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against Defendant Coinbase, Inc., in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida styled Leidel, et al. v. Coinbase, Inc. d/b/a Global Digital Asset Exchange (GDAX), Case No. 9:16-cv-81992-MARRA (the “Coinbase Case”). The Honorable Kenneth A. Marra is the presiding judge. Judge Marra also presided over the previously filed and related class action against Project Investors, Inc. d/b/a Cryptsy (“Cryptsy”) styled Leidel, et al. v. Project Investors, Inc. d/b/a CRYPTSY, Paul Vernon, and Lorie Ann Nettles, Case No. 9:16-cv-80060-MARRA (the “Cryptsy Case”).
• The Cryptsy Case was based on the unlawful conduct of Cryptsy and its founder, Paul Vernon (“Vernon”), including their theft of the cryptocurrencies of the Cryptsy account holders. Mr. Vernon closed Cryptsy, moved to China, refused to participate in the Cryptsy Case or return the cryptocurrency that he stole from Cryptsy account holders, and is not known to have returned to the United States. A Class Action Settlement was obtained in the Cryptsy Case, which was approved by Judge Marra. You can read about the completed Cryptsy Settlement at www.cryptsysettlement.com.
• This Notice is about the Coinbase Case, which was brought on behalf of Cryptsy account holders in an effort to recover additional monies for them. The Coinbase Case is based on allegations that Cryptsy and Mr. Vernon stole the cryptocurrencies of Cryptsy account holders and that Defendant Coinbase unlawfully aided and abetted Cryptsy and Vernon in their theft by allowing them to have accounts on the Coinbase platform that they used, among things, to convert bitcoin to U.S. dollars.
• After almost three years of litigation, which included (but was not limited to) an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 16 depositions of, among others, present and former employees of Coinbase and Cryptsy, motions to compel, expert witness discovery, and the briefing of motions for summary judgment and class certification, the parties reached a class action settlement of the Coinbase Case with the assistance in mediation of Judge (Retired) Howard A. Tescher.
  
  The purpose of the notice is to advise Class Members of their rights with respect to the Coinbase Case settlement.
• If you are a Class Member and you submitted an approved claim in the class action settlement in the Cryptsy Case (i.e., you received a settlement payment in the Cryptsy Case), you do not have to take any action to submit a claim in this Coinbase Case. Your approved claim from the Cryptsy Case will be reviewed in this Coinbase Case, and you will receive a settlement payment in this Class Action Settlement, provided that the Court approves the settlement, as explained below.
• If you did not submit a claim in the Cryptsy Case, or if your claim in the Cryptsy Case was rejected, you may submit a claim in the Coinbase Case. If you submitted a claim in the Cryptsy Case and your claim was rejected, you must submit a claim form in this Coinbase Case but you need not resubmit any of the supporting materials you submitted with your Cryptsy Claim; you need only submit in this Coinbase Case any additional documents and materials to support your claim.
  
  To obtain more information about the claims and defenses in this lawsuit, you can view the complaint, the answer, and other court documents in this case on the Important Documents page of this website.
  
  The Court in charge of this case still has to approve the settlement. Payments will be made if the Court approves the settlement and orders that the settlement funds be distributed, and if any appeals of the Court’s approval of the settlement are resolved in favor of the settlement. Please be patient.