Emin Gün Sirer, the founder and CEO of blockchain platform Ava Labs, has been awarded $3 million in damages for defamation. The lawsuit was lodged against Emre Aksoy, a crypto influencer and alleged "thought leader," over claims he made that Sirer was a member of a group the Turkish government calls the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). The comments caused significant reputational and financial harm to Sirer, including a 57% decline in the value of the Avalanche (AVAX) token.

According to Law360, United States district judge Beth Bloom stated that Sirer was entitled to $750,000 in general damages for reputational harm and $300,000 for increased security costs, in addition to $2 million in punitive damages. Judge Bloom further stated that the large award serves as “deterrent to the kind of malicious behavior” undertaken by Aksoy.

At a blockchain conference last week, Sirer, who is behind the Avalanche network smart contract platform, observed that the crypto industry would need to prove it can be trusted to mature and succeed. His comments come amid an intensified crackdown on various crypto-related activities by U.S. regulators, including staking, stablecoins, and more.

Ava Labs continues to pursue its mission of a building a trustless and decentralized platform for developers to create decentalized applications and financial products. Sirer has consistently emphasized that token value is not driven by hype but by growth and maturity of the underlying protocol, and his recent win reinforces his commitment to upholding high ethical standards among the industry.



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