Judge Lifts Order to Freeze Charlie Shrem's Assets in Winklevoss Case

Early bitcoin supporter and entrepreneur Charlie Shrem has won his first battle in an ongoing lawsuit filed against him by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and their firm, Winklevoss Capital Fund.

According to a court document filed Thursday by federal Judge Jed Rakoff, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a $30 million attachment initially granted against Shrem was lifted after a hearing earlier in the day.

The attachment order, which was granted on Oct. 2 but remained under seal until Oct. 26, allowed the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District to freeze assets belonging to Shrem.

The order included instructions for Xapo, Coinbase, Poloniex, Bittrex and other exchanges and financial institutions to freeze any assets up to 5,000 bitcoin or their equivalent value that they had in their possession which belonged to Shrem.

Coinbase, Xapo, Digital Asset Holdings, Branch Banking and Trust Company, Noble Markets and ItBit all submitted statements saying they did not have any funds belonging to Shrem, while Poloniex said it held $0.41 in bitcoin in an account belonging to Shrem, and Bittrex held roughly $4.44 combined in bitcoin and a fork currency called bitcoin gold.

"After careful consideration, the Court denies plaintiff's motion to confirm the order of attachment and therefore lifts the attachment currently in place, effective immediately," Judge Rakoff wrote Thursday.

"We are very pleased the judge ruled in favor, dissolving the $30 million-plus attachment order after he heard extensive argument from both sides earlier today," he wrote.

A case management plan notes that the parties to the case have until Nov. 15 to amend any pleadings, request documents and file any questions they may have.

The Winklevoss Capital Fund sued Shrem in September, alleging he withheld 5,000 bitcoin he was supposed to purchase on behalf of the Winklevoss brothers.

Shrem has maintained that these accusations are false.