In a new legal battle, Kraken and Binance are facing a $13 billion class action lawsuit over their 2019 decision to delist Bitcoin SV (BSV). The case, brought before the Competition Appeals Tribunal in London by BSV Claims Limited, alleges that the delisting by these exchanges, along with Bittylicious and ShapeShift, resulted in significant financial losses for BSV investors.

Bitcoin SV, created in 2018 from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, has been fervently supported by Dr. Craig Wright, who claims it represents the "true" Bitcoin. Wright has argued that BSV’s larger block size facilitates cheaper and faster blockchain transactions. Despite these claims, BSV was delisted by the four exchanges in April 2019, which reportedly led to a sharp decline in its market value.

The lawsuit claims that the delisting constituted an anti-competitive practice, driving down BSV’s price and causing financial harm to investors. The class action, led by Lord David Currie of Marylebone and supported by several other prominent politicians, seeks up to £10 billion ($12.8 billion) in damages for the estimated 244,000 Britons who owned BSV at the time. The case operates on an "opt out" basis, meaning all affected investors are automatically included unless they choose not to participate.

The class action is funded by Softwhale Limited, which is reportedly backed by Calvin Ayre, a known supporter of BSV. Central to the evidence is a series of tweets from 2019, where Changpeng Zhao (CZ), then-CEO of Binance, supported criticism of Wright and subsequently announced the delisting of BSV. This announcement was followed by a sharp 50% drop in BSV's value within two days.

Binance and Kraken have contested the lawsuit, with Binance’s lawyer arguing that investors' losses were a result of their own choices and suggesting that the case lacks merit regarding BSV's potential as a major cryptocurrency. Kraken has also dismissed the lawsuit as baseless.

Currently, the hearing is focused on whether the class action should be certified with a collective proceedings order. If granted, the case would proceed to trial, potentially taking two to three years to resolve.