David DeRamus serves as expert in support of class action proceedings in In re Tether and Bitfinex Crypto Asset Litigation

David DeRamus served as an expert for the proposed classes in a class action against Tether Holdings Limited and affiliated cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, In re Tether and Bitfinex Crypto Asset Litigation (No. 19 Civ. 9236, US District Court Southern District of New York). Plaintiffs allege that the defendants engaged in a scheme to manipulate the market price of Bitcoin and other cryptocommodities and artificially inflated certain cryptocommodity prices by injecting unbacked or debased USDT into the crypto-economy during the period March 31, 2017 through February 25, 2019.

In support of class certification, Dr. DeRamus submitted an expert report in January 2025, testifying on market definition and related antitrust issues; on whether defendants had the ability to control the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocommodities; on whether defendants issued unbacked USDT; on whether the issuance of unbacked USDT likely caused an increase in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocommodities; and on whether damages were reasonably estimable on a class-wide basis using common methods.

In February 2026, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, and the case has proceeded to the merits phase.

The team supporting Dr. DeRamus included Julian Chan, Ilan Guedj, Pauline Kennedy, Rachel Grinberg, Kai-Wei Hsu, Saurav Karki, Joe Kinter, Michael Logue, Steve Schulenberg, Jonathan Schwartz, Kory Shipp, Marisa Swab, Alicia Xu, and Jeff Zhang.