Beijing court dismisses Bitmain’s $30m claim against Poolin mining pool

In Beijing, a court rejected Bitmain’s appeal against the Poolin mining pool, but ordered its co-founders to pay a fine. According to CoinDesk.

“We are glad this is finally over. Now we can focus on the business,” commented Poolin vice president Alejandro de la Torre.

The equipment maker sought $30 million from Poolin’s co-founders for breach of the non-compete agreement. The court refused the claim, but ordered the defendants to pay a total fine of $532,000 for breach of the contract terms.

Poolin mining pool emerged in 2017 after Pan Jibiao, Li Tianzhao and Zhu Fa left Bitmain. At the time, the companies signed an agreement: for two years the miner would pay Poolin $2,780 a month for refusing to open the pool for Bitcoin mining.

In 2018 the pool breached the contract. Later, its representatives claimed that Bitmain had delayed the payment of compensation, releasing the other party from liability.

Initially, the equipment maker had sought from former employees $4.3 million and 26,825 BTC, which it considered proceeds from the breach of the agreement.

The amount claimed was deemed excessive by the court. By the ruling, Bitmain was awarded 1.2 million yuan (about $170,000).

Subsequently, Bitmain’s claims against Poolin grew to $30 million. But the plaintiffs’ lawyers could not prove that Bitmain’s losses were greater than the penalties.

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