Bitcoin Miner And Lancium Patent Power Showdown In Texas

With the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a large number of "miners" use extremely large (and expensive) amounts of power to "mint" new "coins" for these cryptocurrencies. This "minting" process often involves advanced computers running complex and power-intensive mathematical operations. Recent estimates by the government put total global electricity usage for crypto-assets between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, a range exceeding the total annual electricity usage of many nations. Around 38% of Bitcoin activity takes place in the United States, where crypto mining data centers use as much electricity as traditional data centers.

Recognizing that crypto mining is big business with big numbers behind it, patent owner Lancium, LLC has been targeting these miners. In 2020, it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Layer1 Technologies, Inc., Case No. 6:20-cv-00739 (W.D. Tex.). And now, more recently on May 10, 2023, it filed suit against