According to PANews, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province has ruled on a notable environmental resource case involving cryptocurrency mining. The case centers around a contract dispute between the plaintiff, Luo, and the defendant, a Hunan-based company, regarding the purchase of server equipment and software systems for cryptocurrency mining.

In May 2021, Luo and the defendant company signed three contracts stipulating that the company would provide five servers for a total price of 1.65 million yuan. The company guaranteed that the mining profits would not fall below the average level across the network and promised to cover any losses due to technical issues. Luo paid the agreed amount in installments to the company's actual owner, Fan. However, the company failed to deliver the servers and software systems and did not provide any promised investment returns. Consequently, Luo filed a lawsuit seeking to terminate the contract and claim damages.

The Tianxin District Court in Changsha determined that the contract was invalid as it violated public order and good customs. The court noted that the defendant company had incurred a cost of 60,000 yuan for renting cabinets from a third-party company. Given that both parties were at fault for the invalid contract, the court decided that this loss should be shared equally, with each party bearing 30,000 yuan. The court ordered the defendant company to return 1.62 million yuan to Luo and held Fan jointly liable for the repayment. Luo's other claims were dismissed.