Headline: Seychelles court orders KuCoin to pay >$2M over delisted CHP tokens — investor says award remains unpaid
A Seychelles Supreme Court ruling from December 2025 has reignited legal pressure on crypto exchange KuCoin after a Swiss investor says the platform has not paid a court-ordered award exceeding $2 million. The dispute centers on 21 million CHP tokens that remained on KuCoin after the token was delisted.
What the court decided
The Seychelles court rejected the exchange’s position that tokens left unwithdrawn after delisting become abandoned property. Instead, it treated the 21 million CHP tokens as obligations owed to the investor and ordered compensation of more than $2 million. That decision established a legal distinction between a token’s delisting and the platform’s financial obligations to holders.
Investor alleges noncompliance
According to reports, the Swiss investor claims KuCoin has not complied with the judgment. Six months after the ruling, the award reportedly remains unpaid and there are allegations KuCoin has not participated in related proceedings or responded to case inquiries. Public records cited by the investor’s side have not shown payment of the judgment. KuCoin has not publicly commented on these allegations.
Jurisdiction and enforcement questions
The case spotlights enforcement challenges when a court in one jurisdiction rules against a global crypto platform. KuCoin operates through entities incorporated in Seychelles, the same jurisdiction that issued the ruling, but recovering assets or enforcing a judgment internationally can be complex. Enforcement may require locating exchange-linked assets in other countries and pursuing recognition of the Seychelles judgment through local courts — a process that can be lengthy and uncertain.
Implications for delisted tokens and exchange terms
The dispute also raises broader questions about how exchanges handle delisted assets. Most platforms give users a withdrawal window before support ends and include terms covering inactive or unsupported tokens. However, courts can interpret those terms differently across jurisdictions. The Seychelles ruling asserted that unwithdrawn CHP tokens retained legal value and were not simply abandoned, a precedent that could influence similar disputes elsewhere.
Wider regulatory backdrop
The case arrives amid heightened scrutiny of cross-border crypto platforms by regulators such as the CFTC and others, and at a time when litigation involving exchanges is proliferating across multiple jurisdictions. Observers say the KuCoin-CHP dispute underscores both the legal risks exchanges face and the practical hurdles investors encounter when seeking remedies internationally.
Next steps
The investor says they will continue pursuing recovery through available legal channels. How effectively the Seychelles judgment can be enforced against a globally distributed exchange remains to be seen. Meanwhile, KuCoin’s silence on the matter leaves open questions about its next move and whether further proceedings will follow in other jurisdictions.
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