UPDATE (22nd September 20:23 BST): This article has been updated with new statements from Roger Ver.
In the latest round of a long-standing feud, bitcoin investor Roger Ver has reportedly sued digital currency exchange OKCoin for $570,000.
According to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong High Court document filed Wednesday shows that Ver alleges that OKCoin violated the terms of a contract for work the website Bitcoin.com. In late 2014, Ver and the bitcoin exchange initially joined forces to work on the website. OKCoin was tasked with a website redesign and SEO.
One snippet of the contract specifies a partnership of a minimum of five years. This is the piece that has been the subject of controversy.
Ver claims that the exchange forged the newest version of the contract, which adds that OKcoin can terminate the contract within 6 months, and that the five-year minimum still stands. Ver is seeking $10,000 for each month of the remaining contract duration.
"The short version is that they forged my signature onto a fake contract and the digital signatures prove it beyond any doubt," Ver said in an emailed statement.
He claims that OKCoin is in violation of both the real contract and the alleged forged version. OKCoin CEO Star Xu was named as an individual defendant.
Former OKCoin chief technology officer Changpeng Zhao later backed up Ver’s claims that the latest version is a forgery. At the time, the exchange denied the allegations.
Ver and representatives of OKCoin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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