Marathon Set to Appeal $138 Million Bitcoin Mining Verdict

Bitcoin mining giant Marathon plans to appeal a $138 million jury verdict ruled against it in a case brought by Michael Ho, founder of USBTC and chief strategy officer at Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT).

Legal media outlets reported over the weekend that Ho’s legal team secured a $138 million verdict in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Marathon. The unanimous jury verdict was reportedly delivered last week after a two-week trial in federal court.

“We respect the process but believe the jury reached the wrong conclusion and that there was no wrongdoing on the Company’s part,” a Marathon spokesperson said in a statement shared with TheEnergyMag. “We also believe that the damages awarded have no legal basis. We intend to challenge this verdict and commence the appeal process as soon as practicable.”

Ho alleged in a 2021 complaint that Marathon violated a non-disclosure/non-circumvention agreement after he shared proprietary information about an energy producer, expecting to be compensated for any ensuing transactions.

Initially seeking $30,000 in damages, Ho argued that Marathon misused the shared information to enter into a profitable transaction with Beowulf Energy without providing him his due share. The complaint was originally filed in January 2021.

Ho, who has been involved in the digital asset mining industry since 2014, discovered in 2020 that Beowulf Energy had unused energy capacity suitable for bitcoin mining. He communicated this information to Merrick Okamoto, then Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, under the condition of a contract that would prevent Marathon from bypassing him in any subsequent deals.

Marathon allegedly breached this contract by circumventing Ho and engaging directly with Beowulf Energy. Marathon partnered with Beowulf to scale up its mining capacity at the Hardin, Montana site during the 2021 cycle before completely exiting the facility in 2022.