Marathon Digital was fined $138m for breaching a non-circumvention agreement.
Marathon Digital, the largest bitcoin mining company by market capitalization, has been fined $138 million after being found guilty of violating a non-disclosure or non-circumvention agreement.
Michael Ho, founder of US Bitcoin Corp and chief strategy officer of mining company Hat8, has won a unanimous verdict in a breach of contract lawsuit against Marathon Digital Holdings.
A non-circumvention agreement is a legally enforceable agreement that protects organizations or individuals from being circumvented by other parties involved in the transaction.
Marathon broke the agreement with Michael Ho
In a press release sent to Cointelegraph in 2016, Afford England and Johnson, who represented Ho, said: In 2020, the executive developed a marathon growth strategy, including large-scale Bitcoin (BTC) mining in North America.
According to the law firm, Marathon breached its agreement with Ho by implementing the strategy without paying compensation for the proprietary information it provided.
David Affeld, one of the partners at Affeld England & Johnson who tried the case, said the ruling emphasized the importance of honoring commitments and choosing the right business partners. Affeld added:
“It sends a powerful message that ethical business practices are not optional, they are essential.”
Affeld also said the $138 million total jury verdict vindicates Ho's efforts and expertise. “It reinforces the importance of respecting contractual obligations and respecting professional relationships,” he said.
Affeldt is teamed up with Greg Zucker on the foundation's legal team, who filed the first action.
Cointelegraph reached out to Marathon Digital for comments but did not receive an immediate response.
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Marathon Digital remains the world's largest mining company.
Despite the lawsuit, Marathon Digital Holdings is still the world's largest bitcoin mining company based on market capitalization. The company, valued at $6.77 billion, has surpassed the second largest mining company, CleanSpark, by 48%. According to CompaniesMarketCap, CleanSpark has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion.
In June, Marathon Digital increased its operating speed to 26.3 per second year-over-year. The increase is due to improvements to the Ellendate facility, which became fully operational in July. According to Fred Thiel, CEO and Chairman of Marathon Digital, their mining pool holds 158 blocks per month, a 10% increase from July 2023.
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