- A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the US Department of Energy and Office of Management and Budget in favor of the Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, halting invasive data collection efforts against crypto miners.
- In February 2023, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging the agencies’ emergency crypto miner survey overstepped legal authority by imposing excessive burdens without proper justification.
- The court found the plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits and risk of irreparable harm, preserving the status quo for four weeks until a preliminary injunction hearing.
A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order in favor of the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Riot Platforms against the US Department of Energy and Office of Management and Budget. This is a significant win for the blockchain and crypto mining industry against invasive data collection practices by government agencies.
Background of the Lawsuit
In February 2023, the TBC and Riot Platforms filed a lawsuit alleging that the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were unlawfully seeking detailed data from crypto miners through an “emergency” survey.
The plaintiffs argued this would cause irreparable harm through costly compliance burdens, threats of prosecution for non-compliance, and disclosure of proprietary information. Additionally, they contended the EIA vastly underestimated the time required to complete the survey and that the OMB approved it without proper justification.
Court Finds in Favor of Crypto Industry Plaintiffs
On February 23, a federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs, finding they demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits and risk of irreparable injury without immediate relief. As a result, the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the EIA from requiring responses to the survey or sharing any data already collected.
According to the VP of Riot Platforms, the order aims to preserve the status quo for four weeks until a preliminary injunction hearing. This gives the crypto industry time to further develop its case against the government’s emergency data collection efforts, which the court suggested overstepped the agencies’ legal authority.
A Win for the Crypto Community
This ruling represents an important victory for the blockchain and crypto-mining community against invasive government data collection practices. The court acknowledged the emergency survey imposed excessive burdens on crypto firms without proper justification.
For now, data collection efforts are on hold thanks to the temporary restraining order. We will have to wait and see whether the court converts this to a preliminary injunction, but the crypto industry seems poised to keep fighting government overreach.
