US Government Agrees To Destroy Bitcoin Mining Data Gathered

A lawsuit by the Texas Blockchain Council has forced the US Government to destroy data it gathered on Bitcoin mining. The lawsuit successfully stopped the Biden administration from its data collection on Bitcoin miners, as well as forced them to delete all gathered data thus far.

On January 24, The Texas Blockchain Council and mining company Riot Platforms went to a Texas federal court to request to block a survey handed out by the administration. The U.S. Department of Energy’s mandatory survey of miners was sent out in early January. The survey focused on the changing power demand for cryptocurrency mining. Furthermore, the US Government’s survey identified parts of the nation where Bitcoin mining growth is concentrated and dada on the electricity sources used for the operations. However, the Texas Blockchain Council felt that the survey was invasive and would ruin the business of miners.

The Bitcoin Miners said in response to the survey that it failed to give enough public notice before being issued. Thus, they requested a permanent injunction prohibiting EIA from requesting the data without following the law first. Now, that lawsuit has been successful.

Before considering any similar requests in the future, the EIA will have to follow standard notice and comment processes. It is unknown, but likely, that the organization will resume these surveys under new rules soon.

The EIA and Biden administration have yet to comment on the lawsuit and its result.