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A Swiss investor says KuCoin has not paid a Seychelles Supreme Court award of more than $2 million tied to 21 million delisted CHP tokens, the Cointelegraph report details. The court ruled in December 2025 that KuCoin's Seychelles entities could not treat unwithdrawn tokens as "abandoned" and ordered compensation to the investor.
Why it matters
The dispute is a clean test of how centralized exchanges treat user assets after a delisting. By siding with the investor, the Seychelles court rejected the industry's long-standing default of declaring dormant balances forfeit — a posture that has quietly cost retail holders across multiple cycles. KuCoin reportedly did not appear in court and has not publicly responded to the allegations, raising the prospect of a contested cross-border enforcement action through the exchange's offshore entities.
Market impact
Even at $2M, the award is a meaningful precedent for the dozens of smaller-cap tokens KuCoin and peers have delisted in recent years. Holders of long-dormant balances on major exchanges now have a documented legal pathway to recovery, and other venues operating from Seychelles-incorporated entities will be reading the reasoning closely.
Frequently asked questions
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What did the Seychelles court actually rule?
The court ruled in December 2025 that KuCoin's Seychelles entities could not treat unwithdrawn tokens as "abandoned" after a delisting, and ordered the exchange to compensate the Swiss investor with more than $2 million tied to 21 million CHP tokens.
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Has KuCoin paid the $2 million award?
No. The investor says KuCoin has not paid the award, and KuCoin reportedly did not appear in court and has not publicly responded to the allegations.
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What are CHP tokens and why were they delisted?
CHP is the ticker of a cryptocurrency project that KuCoin delisted. The seed does not specify the delisting date or reason, only that the Swiss investor held 21 million CHP on the exchange when it was removed from trading.
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Why does this ruling matter beyond the $2 million figure?
It rejects the industry default of declaring dormant user balances forfeit after a delisting. Holders of long-dormant balances on centralized exchanges now have a documented legal pathway to recovery, and other Seychelles-incorporated venues face the same exposure.
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What happens next if KuCoin refuses to pay?
With KuCoin reportedly unresponsive, the investor would likely need to pursue cross-border enforcement against the exchange's Seychelles entities, a slow and contested process that turns the case into a test of offshore legal reach.
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