New research by Dragonfly Capital reveals that U.S. users may have missed out on as much as $5.02 billion in potential revenue from geo-blocked airdrops. Back in the early days, before the crypto industry got overcrowded with grief memecoin pseudonymous…

US crypto investors likely lost up to $5b on geoblocked airdrops, research shows

The Arkansas Cryptomining Association is suing two Arkansas state officials, 
arguing that they enforced an unconstitutional and discriminatory state rule 
prohibiting foreign-born American citizens from engaging in crypto-mining 
activities, among other things.
The complaint was made against Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and the 
director of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, Lawrence Bengal, on March 13 
in the US District Court Eastern District of Arkansas.
It follows a federal court ruling last November that temporarily barred 
Arkansas from preventing a naturalized US citizen of Chinese descent from 
operating a crypto mining business.
The Arkansas state rules concerned are &#8220;Rule K&#8221; and &#8220;Act 174,&#8221; which prohibits 
foreign-party controlled businesses in the state.
Director Connor L. Kempton of the Arkansas Cryptomining Association said the 
vagueness of Rule K and Act 174 gives the defendants arbitrary and 
discriminatory enforcement powers, enabling them to grant or deny permits at 
their own discretion.
He said the application of Rule K and Act 174 is unconstitutional and can be 
discriminatory based on race, alienage and national origin, among other 
things. 
_Excerpt from the ACA &#8216;s complaint filed against Bengal and Griffin. Source: 
Court document reviewed by Cointelegraph_
Kempton noted that these rules were enforced against crypto mining firm Jones 
Eagle LLC, which is run by Qimin &#8220;Jimmy&#8221; Chen, a naturalized US citizen of 
Chinese origin.
Kempton specifically pointed to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 
Amendment of the US Constitution in arguing the illegality of Rule K and Act 
174.
_**Related:**__**Russia bans crypto mining for 6 years in 10 regions**_
The Equal Protection Clause similarly prohibits the US states from denying any 
person equal protection of the laws based on the person&#8217;s race, alienage or 
national origin.
The crypto mining executive also argued that Rule K and Act 174 strip American 
citizens like Chen of due process rights under the 14th Amendment.
Kempton also said the prohibitions and penalties imposed under Act 174 
infringe on the federal government&#8217;s authority to investigate, review and take 
action on foreign investments.
&gt; &#8220;Act 174 seeks to establish Arkansas&#8217;s own foreign policy, thereby intruding 
&gt; upon the federal government&#8217;s exclusive power to govern foreign affairs.&#8221;
District Court Judge Kristine G. Baker said on Dec. 9 that the Arkansas state 
officials were barred from enforcing Act 174 against Jones Eagle until further 
notice.
_**Magazine:**__**Train AI agents to make better predictions … for token 
rewards**_

Association seeks to overturn Arkansas law aimed at foreign crypto miners

A Delaware court has granted a temporary reprieve to a Pennsylvanian Bitcoin 
mining firm currently in a payment dispute with its hosting company &#8212; barring 
the hosting provider from blocking access and otherwise commandeering the 
miner&#8217;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&#8217; plan to relocate, allegedly leading to Mawson 
blocking the miner&#8217;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&#8217;s digital and 
physical access to the rigs in the Midland, Pennsylvania, facility.
_A Delaware judge has granted a temporary restraining order barring Mawson 
Infrastructure Group from using the rigs at the Midland, Pennsylvania, 
facility. Source: Law360_
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&#8217;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 &#8212; valued at $30 million &#8212; 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&#8217; miners and use the proceeds to replenish the deposit.
_**Related:**__**US-Canada tariff flip-flops have Bitcoin miners on their 
toes**_
&#8220;On its face, it was operative only prior to April 1, 2024, and only in narrow 
circumstances relating to the replenishment of a deposit,&#8221; lawyers acting for 
Consensus said in the suit.
&#8220;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.&#8221;
_**Magazine:**__**Train AI agents to make better predictions … for token 
rewards**_

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

Bitcoin is not the only one that has suffered. Investors are becoming 
concerned as the flagship cryptocurrency has followed the recent decline in 
the S&amp;P 500. But if past performance is any indication, Bitcoin might be 
experiencing a resurgence. Related Reading: TRUMP Token Takedown—Did Insiders 
Plan The Crash? United States President Donald Trump assumed office in 
November for a second term, but since then, the US stock market has dropped by 
about 10%. Since the global recession hit the markets hard in 2009, this is 
the worst start to a US presidency. Although there are numerous causes for 
this decline, uncertainty on economic strategy and worries about inflation 
have contributed. In the past, it has often signaled impending volatility when 
the S&amp;P 500 and Bitcoin decline simultaneously. The bear market of 2022, which 
saw prolonged losses, was the last time both markets fell precipitously at the 
same time. Not all dips, though, lead to protracted downturns. Some have led 
to a notable rebound, especially since the cryptocurrency&#8217;s halving cycles. 
How is the market reacting to Trump’s second term? Since his return, the S&amp;P 
500 has fallen 9%, marking the worst start to a presidency since 2009. Back 
then, a recession drove the drop. This time, uncertainty is in the driver’s 
seat. Let&#8217;s dive into the data 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/A10F0qtweB — CryptoQuant.com 
(@cryptoquant_com) March 12, 2025 Bitcoin And Stocks Moving Together—For Now 
Bitcoin has long been known as &#8220;digital gold,&#8221; but it is now functioning more 
like a tech stock. According to a CryptoQuant research, Bitcoin&#8217;s price has 
tracked traditional markets, particularly the S&amp;P 500. This pattern is not 
new. During the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the crypto and stocks fell 
together before recovering later that year. But IntoTheBlock analysts found 
that Bitcoin&#8217;s relationship to the S&amp;P 500 has dropped to essentially zero. 
This would suggest that, in line with long-term holders&#8217; pattern, BTC is 
starting to migrate outside of conventional finance. Should this decoupling 
continue, the movement in the price of Bitcoin might rely less on changes in 
the stock market. Historical Trends Suggest A Recovery According to 
CryptoQuant, prior data shows that Bitcoin has frequently rebounded following 
strong corrections. For example, in 2018, Bitcoin lost approximately 80% of 
its value before recovering in 2019. Similarly, following the 2020 crash, 
Bitcoin reached fresh all-time highs in 2021. Another statistic to keep an eye 
on is the Coinbase Premium Index, which measures the difference in Bitcoin 
prices between Coinbase and Binance. When this indicator goes negative and 
then returns to positive territory, it has typically indicated an impending 
price rebound. Related Reading: $931 Million BTC On The Move: Mt. Gox Sparks 
Market Jitters Caution And Optimism Among Analysts Meanwhile, market analysts 
remain divided. Some warn that Bitcoin&#8217;s downturn could signal that the 
overall stock market rise is unsustainable. Tyler Richey, co-editor of Sevens 
Report Research, stated that Bitcoin&#8217;s underperformance compared to its 
January peak could be a warning sign for equities. Featured image from Gemini 
Imagen, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin And S&P Decline Together, But Data Predicts A Turnaround

BlackRock&#8217;s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, has surpassed $1 billion in 
assets under management following a $200 million allocation from Ethena. Data 
from RWA.xyz shows that BlackRock BUIDL fund&#8217;s total assets have grown 57% in 
the past month following Ethena’s…

BlackRock’s tokenized fund BUIDL surpasses $1B as Ethena adds $200M

Telegram&#8217;s self-custodial wallet, built on the TON blockchain, now supports 
trading and earning features, expanding access to crypto for its more than 100 
million users. The update enhances usability for newcomers and deepens TON 
ecosystem integration. Telegram Expands TON-Based Wallet With Trading and Earn 
Capabilities Telegram is pushing deeper into crypto. The messaging giant&#8217;s 
self-custodial […]