The Texas Blockchain Council and Riot beat US energy officials

The Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and bitcoin mining firm Riot Platform have won a favorable ruling from a US district judge in their lawsuit against several US energy officials.

In the year On February 22, Cointelegraph reported that TBC and Riot have sought “invasive” data collection from the US Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and their management from cryptocurrency miners.

According to the lawsuit filed on February 23 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, TBC and Riot convinced the judge that the temporary restraining order (TRO) would cause irreparable harm to the additional data collection.

As a result, the court enforced a TRO barring the EIA from asking crypto miners to respond to the survey, as well as a TRO barring the EIA from sharing any data from the survey.

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

Temporary restraining order granted pic.twitter.com/LzYVycdEWK

— Pierre Rochard (@BitcoinPierre) February 24, 2024

TBC and Riot argued that the potential damages included the sunk costs of complying with the survey, the credible threat of being sued if they did not comply, and the disclosure of the requested proprietary information.

In addition, there was a dispute over the duration of the survey for miners without compensation.

Although the EIA estimated the completion time at about 30 minutes, the court called this estimate “grossly erroneous.”

Related: Bitcoin ‘bloodbath' halving could push US miners offshore

Meanwhile, TBC and Riot disputed the estimate, stating that the cost to complete it so far is more than 40 hours.

Based on the evidence presented, the court ruled that TBC and Riot could win the case. Additionally, the EIA abused its authority to get the emergency study approved, which the court deemed “far short of coordinating such action.”

“Plaintiffs demonstrate that they are likely to succeed on the merits. The survey was submitted and approved under the PRA's emergency provision,” the filing noted.

It is also said that the TRO will be delayed until March 25, for a 4-week period with the purpose of “maintaining the status quo.”

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