Quick Update on Crypto Class Action

Update

Here is an update on the status of the Crypto Class Action by the Applicant, Andrew Hamilton (

@apshamilton) and a call for community help at the end.

Venus Williams posting on Facebook from Sydney in January 2018, you'll understand this photo if you read to the end of the post.

On 14 Aug 2020 I filed our Origination Application (8 pages) and Statement of Claim (50 pages) in the Federal Court of Australia. You can see them here.

On 27 Aug 2020 I filed an Interlocutory Application for leave to serve Facebook Inc and Google LLC in the USA or alternatively to their Australian solicitors (in other cases they are in before the Federal Court) and for a No Adverse Cost Order.

On 27 Aug 2020 I filed a 242 page affidavit in support of the Interlocutory Application.

On 6 Sep 2020 I filed a 84 page affidavit in support of the Interlocutory Application.

On 6 Sep 2020 I filed 9 pages of legal submissions in support of the Interlocutory Application.

On 9 Sep 2020 I filed a 4 page affidavit in support of the Interlocutory Application.

On 11 Sep 2020 I appeared by Microsoft Teams at a short case management hearing where the Judge indicated that he wanted more detail on my personal damages claim, gave me leave to amend the Statement of Claim and set the next case management hearing for 30 Oct 2020.

I am currently in the process of adding new sections to the Statement of Claim providing a lot more detail on my damages and the different types of damages suffered by different parts of the Cryptocurrency Industry (ie ASIC manufacturers, miners, crypto media, crypto projects etc).

On 14 Sep 2020 an important Judgement was published in another case finding that Facebook Inc did "business in Australia" in 2014/15 and thus is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court for conduct outside Australia. This case is the Australian Privacy Regulator (part of the Australian Government) suing Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.

The decision in that case is very helpful to us: we also need to prove Facebook Inc did business in Australia in 2018.

Can You Help Us?

We are also collecting evidence about US or Canadian residents who were in Australia during the period 29 Jan - 19 April 2018 and who used Facebook in that period.

If you have made or seen posts by Americans who were in Australia at that time in that situation please post a link in the comments below.