DOE Agrees to Halt and Destroy Crypto Mining Energy Data Amid Lawsuit

• U.S. Department of Energy agrees to stop gathering data on crypto mining energy usage and destroy any data already collected • Decision comes after lawsuit filed by crypto mining company Riot and Texas Blockchain Council • Plaintiffs alleged DOE threatened criminal fines if companies didn't comply with data requests • DOE survey aimed to examine energy usage of mining virtual currencies • Agreement viewed as compromise with no admission of wrongdoing by parties