According to Odaily, Proton Management has refuted allegations from Swan Bitcoin regarding the theft of its mining business. In a recent court filing, Proton argued that Swan Bitcoin does not own any mining operations. Proton's lawyer stated on Monday that Swan's purported mining business is actually an independent entity named 2040 Energy, which is fully funded by Tether. Tether is not a defendant in the lawsuit and has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Proton further explained that 2040 Energy operates independently of Swan, despite Swan holding a minority stake in the company. The success of 2040 Energy's mining operations is attributed to the efforts and talents of the individual defendants. Additionally, Proton highlighted Swan's unstable financial situation, which led to significant layoffs in July 2024.

Previously, Swan Bitcoin, an Australian mining company, filed a lawsuit against a group of former employees and consultants. Swan accused them of conspiring with Tether to steal its profitable Bitcoin mining business. Swan claimed that six former employees misappropriated its trade secrets, including proprietary code, hash rate optimization techniques, and financial models, to create an illegal replica company, Proton Management, with Tether's approval.