Canadian Crypto Exchange Coinberry Files Lawsuit Against 50 Users After Losing 120 BTC: Report

Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinberry has filed a lawsuit against 50 users who collectively withdrew 120 bitcoins (BTC) following a software error in 2020.

According to a court filing cited by Financial Post, users were able to siphon off the bitcoin with Canadian dollars that had not yet been transferred to their accounts, following a bug with the Interac e-transfer function.

The lawsuit filed by Coinberry, which was acquired by crypto marketplace WonderFi (WNDR) in July, also names the Binance crypto exchange, as it was a venue several customers used to distribute their spoils.

Initially over 500 customers exploited the vulnerability, with 23 bitcoins being returned following a request from Coinberry.

“Coinberry contacted all of the said 546 affected registered users by email and demanded return of the misappropriated bitcoins,” the lawsuit read. “Coinberry also immediately contacted Binance.”

The lost funds raises questions over the risks firms take when handling irreversible assets like cryptocurrencies. Last week, a Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol lost $660,000 worth of crypto when it made a programming blunder.

On Aug. 25, Coinberry's parent company, WonderFi, applied to start trading on the Nasdaq. It currently trades on the Toronto Stock exchange.

Coinberry did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.