Texas Blockchain Council and Riot secure win against US energy officials

According to the court filing, the temporary restraining order granted aims to “preserve the status quo," and will expire before March 25.

The Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms have won a favorable ruling from a United States District Judge in a lawsuit against several United States energy officials.

On February 22, Cointelegraph reported that the TBC and Riot alleged the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and their leadership sought an “invasive” data collection from cryptocurrency miners.

According to a February 23 filing in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, the TBC and Riot convinced the judge that irreversible harm would happen without a temporary restraining order (TRO) against further data collection.

As a result, the court enforced a TRO which prohibits the EIA from requiring crypto miners to respond to the survey, as well as prohibiting the EIA from sharing any data that has already been received from the survey.

“The Court finds that Plaintiffs have shown through a verified complaint and supporting evidence that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result if a TRO is not issued.”

Temporary restraining order granted pic.twitter.com/LzYVycdEWK

— Pierre Rochard (@BitcoinPierre) February 24, 2024

The TBC and Riot argued that the potential damages include non recoverable costs of compliance with the survey, a credible threat of prosecution if they do not comply, and the disclosure of proprietary information requested.

Additionally, there was disagreement over the duration of the survey for miners to complete, with no compensation.

Although the EIA estimated a completion time of approximately 30 minutes, the court deemed this estimation “extremely inaccurate.”

Related: Bitcoin halving ‘blood bath’ could push US miners offshore

Meanwhile, the TBC and Riot also challenged the estimate, stating that the cost of compliance so far has been over 40 hours.

Based on the evidence provided, the court deemed that TBC and Riot are likely to win the lawsuit. Additionally, it alleged that the EIA misused its authority to have the emergency survey approved, a move the court deemed “falls far short of justifying such an action.”

“Plaintiffs also demonstrate that they are likely to succeed on the merits. The survey was proposed and approved under an emergency provision of the PRA,” the filing noted.

It was further stated that the TRO will lapse prior to March 25, with its objective for the 4-week period to “preserve the status quo.”