The PCT Litigation Trust filed an adversary complaint against Swan Bitcoin’s operating entity, Electric Solidus Inc., in Delaware bankruptcy court on May 15, 2026, seeking to recover roughly $970 million in assets moved out of Prime Trust before its August 2023 collapse. The case places custody segregation, client trust property and bankruptcy clawback risk at the center of one of the largest post-insolvency disputes in crypto.
The trust is targeting about 11,994 BTC, more than $24.66 million in cash, roughly $5 million in USDT and USDC, and 91,144 XRP. The Bitcoin alone was valued near $923 million at filing and about $938 million in later market references, making the ownership classification of those assets the decisive legal issue.
Insider-Access Allegations Drive the Complaint
The complaint alleges Swan used insider access and non-public information to move assets before Prime Trust entered bankruptcy. The trust points to a senior Prime Trust executive who also served as a paid adviser to Swan and allegedly communicated with Swan CEO Cory Klippsten through encrypted, auto-deleting messages before key withdrawals occurred.
The timing is central to the estate’s theory. The complaint says an internal ledger labeled “PT FBO Swan Customers” appeared on May 25, 2023, one day before a meeting with Nevada regulators, and argues that designation gave the appearance of customer segregation after warning signs had already emerged.
The trust seeks recovery under preference and fraudulent-transfer theories and asks the court to disallow any Swan claims against the Prime Trust estate until restitution is made. That remedy would materially affect Swan’s standing as a potential creditor if the court accepts the estate’s position.
Swan Frames the Assets as Client Trust Property
Swan has pushed back publicly, arguing that the assets were client trust property held in individually owned trust accounts and therefore should not be available to general unsecured creditors. That defense turns on whether the court treats the assets as segregated customer property or recoverable estate property.
The litigation trust disputes that framing and points to alleged commingling and contractual terms that it says undermine Swan’s trust-property argument. A July 2025 ruling in the Prime Trust bankruptcy also addressed commingling and estate-property treatment, making segregation records and governing agreements critical evidentiary terrain.
Assets routed through third-party custodians can become trapped in estate litigation if segregation, beneficial ownership and contractual custody language are not airtight.
A ruling for the PCT Litigation Trust would strengthen trustees’ ability to claw back pre-bankruptcy transfers treated as preferential or fraudulent. A ruling for Swan would reinforce protections for client trust property and clarify how customer assets should be insulated from custodian insolvency.
The matter remains pending before Judge J. Kate Stickles as Adversary Proceeding No. 26-50331. Its outcome will shape how crypto firms document custody relationships, monitor insider conflicts and model recovery risk when assets move through distressed custodians.
