United States District Judge issued a favorable ruling for the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin mining company, in their lawsuit against US energy authorities. On February 22, it emerged that TBC and Riot had contested the efforts of the US Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and their leadership to gather data from cryptocurrency miners.
Mining Company Takes Significant Step
As per a filing on February 23 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, TBC and Riot successfully persuaded the presiding judge that significant damage would result without a temporary restraining order to cease further data collection. Subsequently, the court initiated proceedings to prevent the EIA from compelling crypto miners to participate in the survey and from disseminating any data acquired through the survey.
“The Court finds that the plaintiffs have demonstrated through a verified complaint and supporting evidence that without a decision, imminent and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result.”
TBC and Riot asserted that potential damages involved the unrecoverable expenses associated with survey compliance, the credible risk of prosecution for non-compliance, and the divulgence of requested confidential data. Additionally, there was disagreement regarding the timeframe allotted to miners to fulfill the survey requirements without compensation.
While the EIA had estimated the survey’s completion time to be around 30 minutes, the court found this estimation to be highly inaccurate. Conversely, TBC and Riot have argued that the cost of compliance has surpassed 40 hours so far, disputing the accuracy of the estimate.
Noteworthy Details from the Court
Basing its decision on the evidence provided, the court determined that TBC and Riot have a strong probability of prevailing in the case. Furthermore, the court criticized the EIA for misusing its authority to sanction emergency investigations, deeming such actions unjustified.
“The plaintiffs also show that they are likely to succeed on the merits of the case. The survey has been proposed and approved under an emergency provision of the PRA.”
Moreover, it was elucidated that the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) would lapse prior to March 25, with its intended four-week duration aimed at upholding stability.
Warning
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
