Ava Labs CEO Awarded $3M in Crypto Defamation Suit
• Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer has won a $3 million defamation suit against crypto influencer Emre Aksoy who accused him of being part of a Turkish terrorist group.
• The lawsuit stemmed from claims made in February 2021 by Aksoy, which caused the price of AVAX to crash 57%.
• Judge Beth Bloom awarded Sirer $750,000 in general damages, $300,000 in special damages for increased security costs and $2 million in punitive damages.
Ava Labs Founder Wins Defamation Suit
Emin Gün Sirer, the founder and CEO of Ava Labs, has been awarded millions in damages after an influencer publicly accused him of being part of a Turkish terrorist group earlier this year. In April 2021, United States district judge Beth Bloom ruled that Sirer was entitled to $750,000 in general damages for reputational harm as well as an additional $300,000 for increased security costs and $2 million in punitive damages to deter similar malicious behavior.
Background on the Lawsuit
The lawsuit stemmed from claims made by crypto influencer Emre Aksoy during a February 2021 YouTube video where he linked Sirer to an Islamist group called the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). Aksoy told his large YouTube following that Sirer was a member of the group and encouraged them to short the Avalanche AVAX token. This caused its price to crash 57% from its high on Feb 11th down to just under $24 at the end of the month. It is believed that Aksoy was paid by a competing product with Ava Labs to make these defamatory comments.
Judge’s Ruling
Judge Bloom found that not only did Sirer suffer considerable reputational harm but he also experienced anxiety and fear when travelling back home due to his justified concern that he would be arrested upon entry as a result of Aksoy’s allegations against him. She therefore awarded him with compensatory and punitive damages totaling $3 million dollars for his suffering.
About Ava Labs
Ava Labs is blockchain platform behind Avalanche network – layer-1 smart contract platform – founded by Emin Gün Sirer back in 2018..In addition ,Sirer believes there is one key difference between long-standing crypto projects and scams – communication . He believes it’s important for projects to keep their community up-to-date with any changes or developments happening within their business or project so they can trust what they are investing into .
Conclusion
Overall , Emin Gün Sirer was able to successfully win his defamation suit against Emre Askoy , earning himself 3 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damage awards . The court found that Askoy had acted maliciously towards Sirer , tarnishing his reputation without any proof or evidence . The case serves as an important reminder about how powerful words can be when used on public platforms such as YouTube , Twitter or other social media sites .