The Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin mining firm, have achieved a favorable outcome in their lawsuit against various U.S. energy officials, according to a United States District judge. The TBC and Riot had accused the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and their leaders of attempting to collect invasive data from cryptocurrency miners. The judge agreed with the TBC and Riot’s argument that irreparable harm would occur without a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent further data collection. Consequently, the court issued a TRO that prohibits the EIA from requiring crypto miners to participate in the survey and from sharing any data that has already been collected. The TBC and Riot argued that complying with the survey would result in non-recoverable compliance costs, a credible threat of prosecution, and the disclosure of proprietary information. They also disputed the estimated completion time for the survey, stating that the actual time spent on compliance has exceeded 40 hours. The court found the evidence provided by the TBC and Riot compelling and believed that they were likely to succeed in the lawsuit. It also criticized the EIA for misusing its authority in approving the emergency survey. The TRO will remain in effect until March 25, with the objective of maintaining the current state of affairs.
Victory for Texas Blockchain Council and Riot against energy officials in the United States