Cryptocurrency exchange drops defamation suit against Forbes

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Forbes three months after filing it, reports Nikhilesh De and Zack Seward of CoinDesk.

De and Seward report, “The exchange filed the suit against the century-old business publication in November alleging a story by reporter Michael del Castillo (formerly of CoinDesk) and contributor Jason Brett made false allegations. Binance sought to have Forbes pay damages and take down the article, but said in a Feb. 4, 2021, filing that it would voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice (meaning it is free to bring another case on the same grounds later).

“The new filing did not say why Binance withdrew the lawsuit for now. A judge approved the dismissal the same day.

“At the heart of the suit was a story about the so-called ‘Tai Chi’ document. The slide presentation obtained by Forbes allegedly described a plan to help Binance bypass U.S. regulations by using a U.S.-based entity to handle business in the country and send profits back to the parent firm.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.