Court says Bitcoin mining host can’t block tenant access to its rigs

A Delaware court has granted a temporary reprieve to a Pennsylvanian Bitcoin mining firm currently in a payment dispute with its hosting company — barring the hosting provider from blocking access and otherwise commandeering the miner’s 21,000 rigs at the property. 

Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn granted a temporary restraining order on March 12, requested by Bitcoin miner Consensus Colocation and systems owner Stone Ridge Ventures against Mawson Hosting, which provides hosting and colocation services for Bitcoin miners.

The firms have been in disagreement over alleged unpaid fees, the terms of their agreement and Consensus’ plan to relocate, allegedly leading to Mawson blocking the miner’s personnel from accessing the site.  

The firms have also alleged Mawson has been operating the rigs since Feb. 28 for their own gain after preventing Consensus from entering the premises.

Mawson, however, claims they are allowed to use the rigs under the terms of its agreement with Consensus, and they have the right of first refusal for its relocation plans.

The Bitcoin miner has been seeking injunctive relief to regain control of their equipment and prevent Mawson from using them. 

As part of the March 12 order, Mawson is barred from using the hashrate from the miners and will no longer be allowed to restrict Consensus’s digital and physical access to the rigs in the Midland, Pennsylvania, facility. 

The temporary restraining is in force until the matter can be heard in a preliminary injunction hearing.

Mawson Infrastructure Group and Consensus Colocation did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. 

How the dispute began

In a March 6 legal complaint, lawyers acting for Consensus accused Mawson of mining Bitcoin (BTC) with their rigs — valued at $30 million — since Feb. 28, generating daily profits of between $100,000 and $200,000 while blocking access to them both physically and through VPN access. 

Consensus and Stone Ridge signed a colocation agreement with Mawson in December 2023. 

They agreed to terminate the partnership by the end of March 2025, with a gradual reduction in capacity leading up to the deadline and a removal process scheduled to begin on March 3.

Mawson argues that it was owed fees and electricity prepayments for February and March, and its colocation agreement gives it the right to redirect the hashrate of Consensus’ miners and use the proceeds to replenish the deposit.

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“On its face, it was operative only prior to April 1, 2024, and only in narrow circumstances relating to the replenishment of a deposit,” lawyers acting for Consensus said in the suit. 

“When Mawson began redirecting the hashrate on Feb. 28, the deposit was fully paid. And in any event, Mawson has stolen hashrate worth many times more than the $17,505.45 Mawson claims, without justification, that Consensus owes in purported late fees.”

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