Pump and Dump Complaints Dismissed Against Crypto Mining Firm

New Jersey District Judge, Freda Wolfson, granted seven motions of dismissal that ended a lawsuit targeting crypto mining firm, Riot Blockchain, on April 30.

The plaintiffs claimed that Riot had made false and misleading statements to its shareholders concerning its investments in crypto assets and blockchain technologies.

The lawsuit accused Riot of issuing misleading materials concerning shareholders who were selling their shares in the company, alleging that “related-party transactions” had not been adequately disclosed by Riot.

Riot Blockchain escapes class-action suit

Judge Wolfson found that the plaintiffs provided insufficient evidence to demonstrate that Riot’s press releases and public statements contained false or misleading information.

“I have examined all three categories of statements and find, for the reasons set forth below, that plaintiff has failed to adequately allege that those statements were false or misleading,” the judge said.

The plaintiffs first filed the class action against Riot, then known as Bioptix Inc, in February 2018, alleging that the firm made “material misstatements” to shareholders after the publication of a negative article from CNBC.

The judge noted that the lead plaintiff may refile a revised suit within 30 days of the order. 

Riot purchases 1,000 Anterminer S19’s

Also on April 30, Riot Blockchain announced that it had purchased 1,000 Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro ASIC miners for $2.4 million.

During April, Riot announced that it had struck a deal to relocate a portion of its mining operations into a New York facility operated by fellow mining firm Coinmint. The agreement saw recently purchased Antminer S17s moved from Riot’s Oklahoma facility.

The deal came after the mid-March crypto crash impacted the profits of many mining operations.