The Supreme People’s Court of China has awarded a bitcoin mining operation its equipment back in a surprise ruling, ordering nearly a half million (485,681) MSI RX470 8 GB graphics cards returned to Genesis Mining. The dispute stems from a partnership between Genesis Mining and hosting provider Chuangshiji Technology Limited. CTL suspended its side of the deal in 2018 after accusing GM of failing to pay its share of the electrical costs.
GM filed a lawsuit in 2019, asking for the return of 560,000 GPUs and 60,580 AntMiner S9 Bitcoin ASIC miners. It accused CTL of embezzlement and began selling off the equipment. After an appeal, a ruling in 2020 ordered the remaining equipment returned to GM, which was now operating in multiple new locations. CTL tried presenting new evidence, but the court maintained its decision, citing that CTL failed to prove the partnership being something more than a contractual business arrangement.
The equipment has an estimated 14 TH/s hash rate on the Ethash algorithm, which could generate $1 million in revenue per day based on current Ethereum prices. But due to the recent bitcoin crackdown in China, GM may need to seek compensation from the equipment or relocate it. The GPUs still have a substantial resale value as high as $200 million, should GM decide to cash out of the mining business.
The Supreme Court said Chuangshiji failed to provide any new evidence that could support a claim that the relationship between it and Genesis Mining was an equity- and profit-sharing joint venture. Rather, the court believed it was clearly a contractual business relationship.
Therefore, the court said both Genesis Mining and Chuangshiji should have the right to terminate the relationship at any time. After the termination, Genesis Mining had the right to demand the return of its equipment, which are still operating and are in a good physical condition for the return, according to the decision.
Source: The Block (via Tom’s Hardware)