Kentucky Sen. Brandon Smith (R-Hazard) faces two separate lawsuits related to the Bitcoin Mining and Repair Business that he founded in Letcher County, Kentucky.
Smith is Mohawk Energy’s CEO and co-founder, and was pivoted from the coal cleanup business in 2022 to ASIC repairs and other Bitcoin mining services.
Local outlet, Leader of the Lexington Herald Ricky Dale Cole sued Smith in Letcher Circuit Court in January, reporting that he accused lawmakers of misrepresenting the value of Mohawk Energy.
Cole claims he has sold the warehouse to Mohawk and agrees to Smith to sell the property below market price in exchange for a 20% stake in the business.
However, Cole’s lawsuit claims that the company refuses to share information about its finances and that he has not profited from the transaction. He also claimed that Smith had made false promises and expressions.
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and misrepresentation in addition to the case filed in November 2023 by Huobi-Subsidiary HBTPower, following the agreement with Mohawk Energy in June 2023.
According to the HBT allegations, Smith had signed a contract to work with HBTPower employees to train his workers and acquire the company’s internal ability to repair Bitcoin mining machines.
However, Smith and other Mohawk representatives eventually asked HBTPower officials to leave the Mohawk property, and HBTPower claimed that they did not own the warehouse when Smith signed a contract with a Chinese company.
Smith denied the allegations against him and filed counterclaims against both plaintiffs.
Despite the legal challenges surrounding Mohawk’s pivots into the code, Smith remains optimistic about the future of the US and Kentucky industry.
Smith helped ensure the passage of several crypto-related bills in Kentucky, including the 2021 bill that provides tax benefits for investments in cryptocurrency mining.
I’ll talk Decryption In his abilities as CEO of Mohawk Energy, Smith said he was “excited” to return to his mission of “job creation and training” once the lawsuit is over.
“It is unfortunate that Huobi and its Shell subsidiary HBTPower have breached an eight-year contract and refused to begin operations at the Mohawk plant, but Mohawk’s long-term plan does not bring more employment and technology training to the region,” he said. “Our countersuits to complaints explain our position.”
Mohawk’s difficult pivot came during a period when the US cryptocurrency mining sector witnessed rapid expansion. The US Bitcoin mining site rose 23% to 48 between 2022 and 2024.
This growth continues this year, as Bitcoin hashrates has recently proven to reach a new all-time high, according to Shanon Squires, Compass Mining’s Chief Mining Officer.
“In the US, that momentum is particularly visible in states like Texas and Wyoming,” she said. Decryption. “This expansion appears to come primarily from existing companies, not from new players entering the market.”
While we are confirming that the US crypto industry has become increasingly specialized in recent years, we sometimes have faster efforts to “pop up and fade” than others.
She added, “While Bitcoin mining was no longer the ‘Wild West’, companies still need to do their homework and work with established partners who have proven themselves through multiple cycles.”
