GMO Trust Agrees to Pay $6.75 Million to Settle GYEN Stablecoin “Depeg” Lawsuit Claim Your Share Before June 5, 2026

If you bought GYEN — the Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin — in New York or California between December 2020 and October 2025 and lost money when it lost its peg, a $6.75 million settlement is now open for claims. The deadline is June 5, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know.

Quick Settlement Snapshot

Field	Details
Defendant	GMO-Z.com Trust Company, Inc.
Parent Company	GMO Internet Group Inc. (Japan)
Plaintiffs	Kenneth Donovan and Hussien Kassfy, on behalf of the class
Court	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Claims Alleged	Violations of New York and California consumer protection law; deceptive disclosures about GYEN’s stability
Settlement Amount	$6,750,000
Admission of Wrongdoing	None — GMO Trust denies all allegations
Class Period	December 29, 2020 – October 10, 2025
Eligible States	New York and California only
Claim Deadline	June 5, 2026
Opt-Out / Objection Deadline	April 30, 2026 (now passed)
Settlement Administrator	Simpluris, Inc.
Official Settlement Website	GYENSettlement.com
Current Status	Final approval motion filed April 17, 2026 — settlement open for claims

What This Settlement Is About — The Short Version

GMO Trust sold a digital coin called GYEN that was supposed to always be worth exactly one Japanese yen. It wasn’t. The coin’s peg broke — repeatedly — and buyers who thought they were buying something stable instead watched their holdings swing wildly in value, losing significant money. Now GMO Trust is paying $6.75 million to settle the resulting class action. If you were one of those buyers in New York or California, you may be entitled to a cash payment.

What Is GYEN and What Went Wrong?

The Promise: A Stable Digital Yen

Every GYEN issued by GMO Trust is marketed as 100%-fiat backed and always 1:1 redeemable with Japanese yen. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency specifically designed to maintain a fixed value — in this case, one GYEN was supposed to always equal one Japanese yen, giving crypto traders a stable, government-currency-backed asset without leaving the digital asset ecosystem.

GMO Trust represented to purchasers that the cryptocurrency GYEN was “pegged” to the Japanese yen at a one-to-one rate, and that since it was being backed by a government-issued currency that is traditionally considered quite stable, it too would be stable. GMO Trust further marketed GYEN as an investment that can “virtually eliminate volatility” and repeatedly promoted the stability of the currency.

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The Reality: “Anything But Stable”

Despite its “stablecoin” moniker, GYEN has “been anything but stable.” Although the yen has fluctuated only seven percent against the U.S. dollar since January 2021, GYEN has swung over 200 percent against the U.S. dollar.

The most dramatic incident happened when GYEN launched on Coinbase in November 2021:

When Coinbase first allowed GYEN trading on its exchange in November 2021, the asset “immediately came untethered from the yen and rose sharply in value.” Although investors placed orders under the belief that the coin’s value was, as advertised, equal to that of the yen, its worth was actually “up to seven times more” than the yen. Just as suddenly, however, the value of GYEN fell “back to the peg,” dropping 80 percent in one day.

At the same time, Coinbase “compounded the harm” to investors by restricting their ability to sell the asset before abruptly suspending all GYEN trading without explanation.

One lead plaintiff’s experience illustrates the scale of individual losses vividly: Plaintiff Kenneth Donovan paid more than $335,000 to order GYEN tokens in 2021. Unknown to him, at the time his order was placed, GYEN’s value was not pegged to the Japanese yen. Within hours after the order was filled, his GYEN tokens lost more than 90 percent of their value, which was never recovered.

What the Lawsuit Alleged GMO Trust Did Wrong

Plaintiffs alleged that defendants made materially false and misleading statements in connection with GYEN, including in a whitepaper and in other communications to investors, by offering GYEN as pegged to the Japanese yen at a one-to-one ratio, 100% collateralized by fiat currency, and therefore a safe investment protected from volatility. On at least two occasions since GYEN was introduced — in May 2021 and again in November 2021 — the peg broke and GYEN experienced wild volatility, causing harm to investors.

The complaint alleges the defendants knew, “based on a prior destabilizing event, that GYEN’s peg to the yen was prone to break and that such an event would be likely, if not certain, when GYEN opened for trading on Coinbase.”

The case claims that in truth, the value of GYEN depended on the liquidity of the asset itself and had “little to no connection at all to the value of the yen.”

The Settlement — Key Terms

Plaintiffs Kenneth Donovan and Hussien Kassfy, on behalf of themselves and the Settlement Class, have reached a proposed cash settlement of $6,750,000.00 in cash that, if approved by the Court, will resolve all claims of Settlement Class members in the Action.

The lawsuit alleges that GMO Trust violated New York and California law by failing to provide accurate disclosure concerning the stability of GYEN during the Settlement Class Period. Defendant denies that it did anything wrong, and the Court has not decided who is right. The parties agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the risks, disruption, and uncertainties of continued litigation.

A motion for final settlement approval has been filed as of April 17, 2026. Until the court grants final approval, the settlement remains subject to court review.

Are You Eligible? Check This First

This settlement has specific and narrow eligibility requirements. Unlike some class actions that cover broad national classes, this one is limited to two states.

You Qualify If ALL of the Following Apply:

You purchased or acquired GYEN in New York or California at a time when the GYEN was unpegged from the Japanese yen between December 29, 2020 and October 10, 2025, inclusive, and lost money as a result.

In plain terms, you must have:

1. Bought or acquired GYEN — not just held it, but actively purchased or received it
2. Done so in New York or California — your purchase location matters, not just your residence
3. During a period when GYEN was depegged from the yen
4. Between December 29, 2020 and October 10, 2025
5. Lost money as a result of the depeg

You Are NOT Eligible If:

• You purchased GYEN in any state other than New York or California
• You purchased GYEN only during periods when it was properly pegged (i.e., at or very near the yen exchange rate) and did not lose money
• You purchased GYEN after October 10, 2025

How Much Will You Receive?

The payout per person is not a fixed amount — it is calculated based on your verified losses relative to the total claims filed. For GYEN held as of October 10, 2025, the recognized loss is the purchase price minus the JPY/USD exchange rate on the purchase date. For GYEN transferred from an exchange to a non-exchange location, the recognized loss is the lesser of the purchase price minus the JPY/USD exchange rate on the purchase date or the purchase price minus the JPY/USD exchange rate on the transfer date. Only claims resulting in a payment of $10 or more will receive a payout.

Your individual payment depends on: how much GYEN you purchased, when you purchased it, what the yen exchange rate was at that time, and how many total valid claims are ultimately filed. The more valid claims submitted, the smaller each individual share proportionally — though larger losses will yield larger individual payouts relative to smaller ones.

How to File Your Claim — Step by Step

The deadline is June 5, 2026. Do not wait.

Step 1 — Go to the Official Settlement Website

Visit GYENSettlement.com — the only court-approved settlement portal. Do not file through any third-party site.

Step 2 — Check If You Were Pre-Identified

If class members received a login ID and PIN with their settlement notice, the administrator pre-identified them as potential class members who can log into the settlement portal to check eligibility. If you received a notice with login credentials, use those to log in directly.

Step 3 — Complete the Claim Form

Claimants should be prepared to use the wallet connector included in the claim submission process to verify ownership or control of the wallet or account associated with the relevant GYEN transactions. Have your crypto wallet or exchange account information available.

Step 4 — Submit by the Deadline

Class members may file a claim online or download, print, and complete the PDF claim form and mail it to the settlement administrator. The deadline to file a claim is June 5, 2026.

Mail address: Gyen Class Action Settlement Claims Administrator P.O. Box 25229 Santa Ana, CA 92799

Email: [email protected]

Step 5 — Wait for Approval and Distribution

Payments will only be distributed after the court grants final approval of the settlement and any appeals are resolved. The final approval motion was filed April 17, 2026; a final approval hearing date has not been publicly confirmed in available sources.

Your Three Options as a Settlement Class Member

Option 1 — File a Claim (Recommended for Most): Submit your claim by June 5, 2026. You will receive a proportional cash payment and give up your right to sue GMO Trust separately over these specific claims.

Option 2 — Opt Out (Deadline Passed): Requests for exclusion from the Settlement must have been received by April 30, 2026. This deadline has now passed. If you did not opt out by April 30, you remain in the settlement class.

Option 3 — Object (Deadline Passed): Objections to the Settlement must have been filed with the Court and served on counsel for the Settling Parties by April 30, 2026. This deadline has also passed.

For nearly all eligible class members, filing a claim by June 5, 2026 is now the only actionable option.

GMO Trust’s Position

Defendant denies that it did anything wrong, and the Court has not decided who is right. GMO Trust has agreed to pay the $6.75 million settlement solely to resolve the litigation and avoid the continued costs and uncertainty of trial — a standard posture in class action settlements that does not constitute an admission of liability.

It is worth noting that Coinbase was also named as a defendant in related litigation. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Coinbase’s motion to compel arbitration, staying that putative class action. This settlement is specifically with GMO Trust and does not resolve claims against Coinbase, which were separately adjudicated.

Legal Context: Why This Settlement Matters for Crypto Investors

Stablecoins Are Not Always Stable — And That Creates Liability

This case is one of the most significant stablecoin-specific consumer protection settlements in U.S. history. It establishes a clear precedent: issuers of stablecoins that market their products as pegged to a reference asset — and then fail to maintain that peg — can face meaningful legal liability under state consumer protection laws, even where securities law claims fail.

The buyers had adequately alleged deceptive business practice claims against GMO Trust, but failed to plead the coin was a security. This is significant: the settlement was reached on consumer protection grounds — false advertising and deceptive business practices — not federal securities law. This means similar claims could be brought in other stablecoin depeg cases without needing to clear the higher bar of proving the coin is a security.

A Growing Enforcement Landscape for Stablecoins

As stablecoin regulation evolves rapidly in 2026, this settlement arrives at a pivotal moment. U.S. lawmakers have been debating federal stablecoin legislation, and the GYEN case demonstrates that existing state consumer protection frameworks already provide a viable avenue for investor redress when stablecoin issuers make claims about stability that prove false.

What It Means for the Broader Crypto Market

Any issuer of a stablecoin — whether pegged to the dollar, the yen, or any other asset — now has a concrete legal precedent showing that misleading disclosures about peg stability can result in multi-million dollar class action liability. The settlement sends a signal that marketing language promising “virtually zero volatility” carries legal weight that issuers cannot easily walk back when the peg breaks.

Current Status — Where Things Stand Right Now

As of April 17, 2026, a motion for final settlement approval has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The settlement timeline from here:

December 31, 2025 — Preliminary settlement approval sought; class period and class members identified.

February 9, 2026 — Court-appointed settlement administrator Simpluris, Inc. issued official settlement notice; claim filing opened.

April 30, 2026 — Opt-out and objection deadline (now passed).

April 17, 2026 — Final settlement approval motion filed.

Final Approval Hearing — To be scheduled by the court; date not yet publicly confirmed.

June 5, 2026 — Claim filing deadline. All claim forms must be submitted online, postmarked by mail, or emailed by this date.

Post-Approval — Payments distributed to all valid claimants after final court approval and resolution of any appeals.

FAQs

Q: I bought GYEN on Coinbase — am I eligible? 

 Coinbase listed GYEN for trading in New York and California. If you purchased GYEN on Coinbase during a period when it was depegged from the yen, between December 29, 2020 and October 10, 2025, and lost money, you may be eligible. You will need to connect your wallet or exchange account to verify the transaction.

Q: What does “unpegged” mean and how do I know when that was?

 “Unpegged” means GYEN was not trading at or near the 1:1 Japanese yen exchange rate. The most significant depeg events occurred in May 2021 and November 2021, but the class period covers any qualifying purchase from December 29, 2020 through October 10, 2025. The settlement website at GYENSettlement.com contains details about covered periods.

Q: I live in Texas but bought GYEN on a New York-based exchange — do I qualify? 

Eligibility is based on where the purchase was made, not exclusively where you reside. This is a nuanced question — contact the settlement administrator at [email protected] for guidance on your specific situation.

Q: What if I lost money but my loss calculates to less than $10?

 Only claims resulting in a payment of $10 or more will receive a payout. If your calculated recognized loss falls below this threshold, you will not receive a payment even if you are a valid class member.

Q: Do I need to show proof of my GYEN purchase?

 The settlement requires you to connect your crypto wallet or exchange account to verify your transactions. Have your wallet address or exchange login information ready when filing your claim.

Q: Is Coinbase also part of this settlement? 

No. This settlement is exclusively with GMO-Z.com Trust Company. Coinbase’s related litigation was separately sent to arbitration after the court granted Coinbase’s motion to compel arbitration. This settlement does not resolve any claims against Coinbase.

Q: What is the official settlement website? 

 GYENSettlement.com is the only court-approved official settlement portal. You can also email the settlement administrator at [email protected] or write to: Gyen Class Action Settlement Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 25229, Santa Ana, CA 92799.

Q: What happens if I do nothing?

If you are an eligible class member and do not file a claim by June 5, 2026, you will receive no payment and will be legally bound by the settlement — meaning you give up your right to sue GMO Trust over these specific claims in the future.

Last Updated: April 20, 2026

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The settlement described remains subject to final court approval. GMO Trust denies all allegations of wrongdoing. The court has not ruled that any defendant did anything wrong. For settlement-specific questions, visit GYENSettlement.com or contact the settlement administrator directly.