FALLSTUDIE | Wenn eine Blockchain-Analysefirma ausrastet – die Klage gegen Chainalysis

BitcoinKE · 2026-10-01T12:33:03.000Z

Eine US-Bundesrichterin hat die meisten Klagen abgewiesen, die von der Insolvenzmasse der Celsius-Pleite gegen die Blockchain-Analysefirma Chainalysis erhoben wurden, jedoch eine Klage zugelassen, in der behauptet wird, das Unternehmen habe bei einem Verstoß gegen eine Treuepflicht im Zusammenhang mit der umstrittenen Berechnung des Celsius-Vermögens in Höhe von 3,3 Milliarden US-Dollar mitgewirkt. Die US-Bezirksrichterin Margaret Garnett entschied am 29. September 2026, dass 12 Klagen mit Vorurteilen abgewiesen werden sollen, während drei Ansprüche wegen Verbraucherschutz ohne Vorurteile abgewiesen wurden und bis zum 20. Oktober 2026 geändert werden können.

A U.S. judge has dismissed most claims brought by the Celsius bankruptcy estate against blockchain analytics firm, Chainalysis, but allowed a claim alleging the company aided a breach of fiduciary duty tied to Celsius’ disputed $3.3 billion asset calculation to proceed.
U.S. District Judge, Margaret Garnett, ruled on September 29 2026 that 12 claims should be dismissed with prejudice while three consumer-protection claims were dismissed without prejudice and can be amended by October 20 2026.
 
The judge denied Chainalysis’ motion to dismiss the first claim allowing it to continue.
 
The surviving claim centers on Celsius’ December 2020 announcement that it had completed an ‘audit’ confirming $3.318 billion in assets using Chainalysis’ Reactor software.
According to the complaint described in the ruling, a Celsius executive initially calculated about $1.18 billion in assets using Reactor before the methodology was changed and the figure rose to about $3.3 billion. The complaint alleges Chainalysis helped draft, edit, and approve the subsequent press release and knew that describing the work as an audit and independent verification was false or misleading.
 
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The court’s ruling does not establish those allegations as facts. For purposes of deciding the motion to dismiss, the court treated the complaint’s well-pleaded allegations as true.
The case puts renewed attention on the role and responsibilities of blockchain analytics companies whose software is increasingly used by exchanges, financial institutions, and government agencies to trace transactions and investigate illicit activity.
 
That market has expanded sharply.
 
TRM Labs said recently that more than 600 government agencies and institutions now use its platform while its annual recurring revenue has quadrupled over the past three years using these statistics are proof that it offers a superior product and service over Chainalysis.
 
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The company has positioned its tools around transaction investigation, criminal-network identification, and tracing illicit funds.
 
Chainalysis and TRM Labs are also competing for increasingly significant government and institutional business. In August 2026, Chainalysis challenged a roughly $94.7 million U.S. government contract awarded to TRM Labs for cryptocurrency investigative technology and services.
The Celsius litigation therefore comes as blockchain forensics firms have moved from being largely back-office analytics providers to important infrastructure for exchanges, regulators, law enforcement, and financial institutions.
Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 after freezing customer withdrawals. The lawsuit was brought by the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium, the litigation administrator, and recovery manager for the Celsius estate as part of efforts to recover assets for creditors.
The surviving claim alleges that Chainalysis’ involvement gave credibility to Celsius’ asset figures and helped the company’s insiders breach their fiduciary duties. Chainalysis has sought dismissal of the lawsuit. The company has refused to comment on the ruling.
 
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The next deadline in the case is October 20 2026 when Celsius’ litigation administrator must either amend the 3 surviving consumer-protection claims or inform the court that it will not do so.
The case leaves one central question for later stages of the litigation – whether a blockchain analytics provider’s role in producing and communicating financial metrics can create legal exposure when those metrics are subsequently used by a crypto company to support claims about its financial position.
 
 
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