Atomic Wallet files suit over $100M hack, saying it has ‘no connection to the US’

The company behind Atomic Wallet has asked a US court to dismiss a class-action lawsuit seeking damages over a $100 million hack, arguing that the claims should have been filed in Estonia, where it is based.

In a motion to dismiss filed Nov. 16 in a Colorado district court, the Estonian company argued that it had “no connection to the United States” and that its end-user license agreement required that all disputes against him be filed in his home country of Estonia.

Atomic also argued that only one user in Colorado would have been affected, which was not the case.

The company also claimed that the 5,500 Atomic users allegedly affected had agreed to its terms of service which expressly disclaims liability for losses due to theft and limits damages to $50 per user.

Atomic said the plaintiff’s claims of negligence also lack legal merit because no legal duty was ever created that they had to maintain the security of Atomic Wallet and protect against hacking.

Related: Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit was targeted by hackers 159,000 times in the first half of the year: report

“This Court has repeatedly rejected similar claims because Colorado does not recognize such a duty,” he wrote.

Allegations of fraudulent misrepresentations have also been rejected by the Estonian-based wallet provider.

The plaintiffs launched the class action in August, two months after a $100 million exploit on Atomic Wallet that affected up to 5,500 users – with North Korean and Ukrainian groups blamed for the attack.

Review: Should crypto projects ever negotiate with hackers? Probably