{"id":66404,"date":"2022-08-29T11:31:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T08:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=66404"},"modified":"2025-09-07T01:08:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T22:08:57","slug":"ava-labs-ceo-dismisses-cryptoleaks-accusations-of-pressuring-rivals-as-nonsense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/ava-labs-ceo-dismisses-cryptoleaks-accusations-of-pressuring-rivals-as-nonsense\/","title":{"rendered":"Ava Labs CEO dismisses CryptoLeaks accusations of pressuring rivals as &#8216;nonsense&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The head of Ava Labs, the blockchain company behind Avalanche, Emin G\u00fcn Sirer, refuted CryptoLeaks&#8217; allegations that it used a law firm to go after competitors.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">How could anyone believe something so ridiculous as the conspiracy theory nonsense on Cryptoleaks? We would never engage in the unlawful, unethical and just plain wrong behavior claimed in these self-serving videos and inflammatory article. Our tech &#038; team speak for themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Emin G\u00fcn Sirer\ud83d\udd3a (@el33th4xor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/el33th4xor\/status\/1564006450531377156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to the publication&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoleaks.info\/case-no-3\">claim<\/a>, the company entered into a \u201csecret agreement\u201d with the American firm Roche Freedman to use the legal system in a gangster-like manner to attack and harm crypto organizations.<\/p>\n<p>In the CryptoLeaks videos, the attorney Kyle Roche allegedly describes in detail the relationships and partnership with Emin G\u00fcn Sirer and Kevin Sekniak, Ava Labs&#8217; chief operating officer.<\/p>\n<p>CryptoLeaks claimed that Roche and Roche Freedman entered into a deal to provide legal services in exchange for AVAX tokens and equity in the crypto company. The firm allegedly undertook to use the \u201cjudicial process as a tool to undermine competitors and draw regulators\u2019 attention to them,\u201d such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.<\/p>\n<p>According to CryptoLeaks, the ties between Roche and G\u00fcn Sirer began in academic circles; in 2019 they moved into a coworking space together. It was roughly around that time that the agreement purportedly followed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u00abWe struck a deal under which I would provide legal services in exchange for a certain percentage of the token offering\u00bb, \u2014 Roche says in the video.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In another excerpt, the lawyer admitted that they used legal services as a \u201cstrategic tool to support Ava Labs.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u00abI sue half the companies in this space; I know where the market is headed. I think I\u2019m one of the 10 best crypto experts in the world. I\u2019ve seen the inside of every crypto company\u00bb, \u2014 the lawyer says in the video.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>CryptoLeaks noted that filing the suit allows access to the defendant&#8217;s internal confidential data. Roche Freedman\u2019s preferred method is to use class actions. <\/p>\n<p>The class action is considered \u201cprotected speech,\u201d allowing the firm to make false statements without fear of liability. Financial risks are also limited to direct costs, and defendants cannot seek reimbursement of expenses in the event of a win.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u00abHow could anyone believe something so ridiculous as the conspiracy theory nonsense on CryptoLeaks? We would never engage in the unlawful, unethical and just plain wrong behavior claimed in these self-serving videos and inflammatory article. Our tech &#038; team speak for themselves\u00bb, \u2014 Emin G\u00fcn Sirer responds to the publication.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Berkeley Law professor Jay Nicholas Gross commented on the CryptoLeaks investigation:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u00abEvery lawyer has a \u201cspecial\u201d arrangement with their client and is obligated to zealously represent the client within ethics rules. Each lawyer is paid in whatever form the client can provide\u2014money or equity. Every lawyer sues their client\u2019s competitors\u00bb.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">EVERY lawyer has a \u00abspecial\u00bb arrangement with their client<br \/>its protected by privilege + attys are obligated to zealously represent their clients within ethics rules<br \/>EVERY lawyer is paid in whatever form client can provide ($ or equity)<br \/>EVERY lawyer sues his clients\u2019 competitors<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 J Nicholas Gross (@JNGross) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JNGross\/status\/1564020423972364288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, citing Roche&#8217;s admission, CryptoLeaks contends that G\u00fcn Sirer used legal services to pursue a Turkish expert who had long-running disputes with him and had come to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The publication contends that Roche Cyrulnik Freedman&#8217;s involvement in the Dave Kleiman&#8217;s relatives&#8217; case against Craig Wright is also linked to the head of Ava Labs&#8217;s personal interests.<\/p>\n<p>According to CryptoLeaks, Roche had said a few months ago that his firm was pursuing 25 class-action suits. In April, it emerged that 11 crypto companies, including Binance, BitMEX, KuCoin and Tron Foundation, had faced class-action lawsuits from Roche Cyrulnik Freedman.<\/p>\n<p>CryptoLeaks says that former partner Jason Cyrulnik was ousted from the firm by a vote to deprive him of his stake in the Ava Labs deal.<\/p>\n<p>In June Roche Freedman <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lawsuit-filed-against-binance-us-over-sale-of-luna-and-ust\">filed a suit against Binance.US<\/a> and the CEO Brian Shroder on behalf of investors in LUNA and TerraUSD.<\/p>\n<p>In July the firm&#8217;s targets were key figures in the Solana ecosystem, whom on behalf of investors the lawyers <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/us-class-action-filed-against-solana\">accused of illegal sale of securities<\/a> in the form of the SOL token.<\/p>\n<p>Read ForkLog&#8217;s Bitcoin news in our Telegram \u2014 cryptocurrency news, prices and analytics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ava Labs CEO Emin G\u00fcn Sirer rejected CryptoLeaks&#8217; allegations that it used a law firm to go after competitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1464,1413,1942,1323],"class_list":["post-66404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-accusations","tag-avalanche-avax","tag-emin-gun-sirer","tag-investigations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"33","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66406,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66404\/revisions\/66406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}