A class action lawsuit was brought today on behalf of investors in Nano f/k/a RaiBlocks (XRB), alleging, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, that Nano and key members of its core team violated federal securities laws and that, in their push to introduce XRB to a wide market of investors, recklessly directed investors to open accounts and place their assets with a little known, and severely troubled, Italian cryptocurrency exchange called BitGrail. On February 9, 2018, Bitgrail, which dealt almost exclusively in Nano, was hacked for more than 17 million coins, worth about $187 million USD. The complaint alleges Nano and its core team engaged in an unregistered offering and sale of securities that violated federal securities laws, including Sections 5, 12(a), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, and wrongly ushered investors to BitGrail.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the suit is the requested relief, which includes ordering a hard fork, similar to the way Bitcoin Cash was created. The complaint asks that the Court rescind the plaintiff class’ investments in XRB and require “Nano to ‘rescue fork’ the allegedly missing XRB into a new cryptocurrency in a manner that would fairly compensate the class of victims.”
Author
David Zaslowsky
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David Zaslowsky is partner in the Litigation Department of Baker McKenzie's New York office. He helps companies solve complex commercial disputes in arbitration and litigation, especially those involving cross-border issues and Section 1782 discovery. David has a degree in computer science and, as a result, has worked on numerous technical-related disputes, including, most recently, those involving blockchain and artificial intelligence. In April 2025, Attorney Intel named David one of the top 25 blockchain lawyers in the country. He is the editor of the Firm's blockchain blog and co-editor of the firm's International Litigation & Arbitration Newsletter. David has been included for a number of years in the Chambers USA Guide and Chambers Global Guide for his expertise in international arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator and is on the roster of arbitrators for a number of arbitral institutions. David sits on the Board and chairs the governance committee of the New York International Arbitration Center, and is a founding member of the International Arbitration Club of New York. For over 35 years, he has written and spoken often on the subjects of arbitration and international litigation.