Compass Mining wins $1.5 million in court ruling against hosting provider

A judge ruled in favor of bitcoin miner Compass Mining after the company sued hosting provider Dynamics Corp in June.

The company was ordered to pay a total of $1.47 million by a Delaware Court on Thursday.

Compass is unsure whether it will be able to collect that money, saying in a statement that Dynamics' "attorneys withdrew from the case for non-payment."

“It’s not over," Dynamics said in a statement to The Block. "Some paperwork was filed incorrectly but the appeal is in the works.”

The conflict between the two firms escalated in June, when Dynamics said that it had terminated a hosting agreement with Compass and accused the company of missed and late payments. The ruling comes amid tough times for miners who are facing high energy costs, low bitcoin prices and increasing difficulty in mining.

'Hostage' machines

Compass said the allegations were "completely incorrect" and filed a lawsuit on the basis that Dynamics was holding its machines "hostage." It also said that it paid about $1.7 million toward the construction and operation of three facilities but that Dynamics hadn't fulfilled some of its obligations, according to Law360.

In July, a court order granted Compass access to the machines.

The payments laid out in the motion for default judgment account for amounts overbilled and not reimbursed, and deposits and capital expenditures paid by Compass for the development of multiple facilities. The court also ordered Dynamics to pay post-judgment interest and collection costs.

"Dynamics Mining violated the rights of both Compass Mining and our clients, and we’re thankful the U.S. legal system has produced a just result," co-CEO and co-founder of Compass Mining Thomas Heller said in a statement.

Compass Mining hosts mining machines from individual clients in facilities across the U.S. and Canada. Dynamics operated roughly 1% of Compass Mining’s contracted capacity.