Tether 以盜用專有資訊為由起訴 Swan Bitcoin

Tether 和 Swan Bitcoin 於 2022 年合作建立了一家名為 2040 Energy 的比特幣挖礦企業。 Tether 提供資金，Swan 負責營運。

Bitcoin financial services company Swan Bitcoin has filed a lawsuit in the High Court of England and Wales against its former law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, alleging legal malpractice in its handling of a dispute with a rival firm, Proton Management.

比特幣金融服務公司 Swan Bitcoin 向英格蘭和威爾斯高等法院對其前律師事務所 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher 提起訴訟，指控其在處理與競爭對手 Proton Management 的糾紛時存在法律不當行為。

The lawsuit stems from a broader conflict between Swan and several of its former employees, who left the company in 2023 to establish Proton. Swan has accused these employees of misappropriating proprietary information to create the competing firm.

該訴訟源於 Swan 與其幾名前員工之間更廣泛的衝突，這些前員工於 2023 年離開公司成立了 Proton。斯旺指控這些員工盜用專有資訊來創造競爭公司。

According to the complaint, Gibson, Dunn was initially retained by Swan to pursue legal action against Proton for allegedly using stolen trade secrets to undermine Swan’s role in a joint Bitcoin mining venture with Tether. However, the law firm later withdrew from the case after accepting Tether as a client, despite the conflict of interest.

根據吉布森的起訴書，鄧恩最初受 Swan 委託，對 Proton 提起法律訴訟，因為 Proton 涉嫌利用竊取的商業機密破壞 Swan 在與 Tether 合資的比特幣挖礦企業中的作用。然而，儘管存在利益衝突，該律師事務所在接受 Tether 作為客戶後隨後退出了此案。

Swan CEO Cory Klippsten has criticized the firm’s actions, stating that Gibson’s decision “blindsided” Swan and caused severe damage to its mining business.

Swan執行長Cory Klippsten批評了該公司的行為，稱吉布森的決定“讓Swan措手不及”，對其採礦業務造成了嚴重損害。

The lawsuit alleges that Gibson, Dunn failed to adequately investigate the claims against Proton and neglected to inform Swan of the potential conflict of interest arising from its representation of Tether. As a result, Swan claims it lost the opportunity to pursue legal action against Proton, which ultimately led to the company being sold at a大幅 reduced valuation.

該訴訟稱，Gibson、Dunn 未能充分調查針對 Proton 的指控，並且未能告知 Swan 因其代表 Tether 而產生的潛在利益衝突。因此，Swan 聲稱它失去了對 Proton 採取法律行動的機會，最終導致該公司以大幅降低的估值出售。

Klippsten has accused Tether of playing a role in the alleged coup attempt by its former employees, but Tether has denied any wrongdoing.

Klippsten 指責 Tether 在其前員工所謂的政變企圖中發揮了作用，但 Tether 否認有任何不當行為。

In a statement to CoinDesk, Tether said it “is aware of the allegations being made by Swan in this matter, but we are not named as a defendant in the case.”

Tether 在給 CoinDesk 的聲明中表示，“了解 Swan 在此事中提出的指控，但我們沒有被列為該案的被告。”

“We acted fully within our contractual rights under the joint venture agreement and look forward to presenting our case in court,” the statement added.

聲明補充說：“我們完全按照合資協議規定的合約權利行事，並期待在法庭上陳述我們的案件。”

The lawsuit provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the mass resignation of key employees from Swan, which culminated in the company being sold at a大幅 reduced valuation.

該訴訟詳細描述了導致 Swan 關鍵員工大規模辭職的事件，最終導致該公司以大幅降低的估值出售。

The complaint alleges that Tether’s advisor, Zach Lyons, encouraged Swan’s former employees to leave and suggested that Tether no longer saw value in Swan’s business. The lawsuit describes meetings where Lyons reportedly undermined Swan’s leadership and offered legal cover for the employees to create a copycat of Swan’s mining operations.

投訴稱，Tether 的顧問 Zach Lyons 鼓勵 Swan 的前員工離開，並暗示 Tether 不再認為 Swan 的業務有價值。該訴訟描述了據稱里昂斯在會議上破壞了斯旺的領導地位，並為員工提供法律掩護，以模仿斯旺的採礦業務。

The alleged conspiracy caused massive turmoil for Swan Bitcoin. By July 22, the company dropped its initial public offering (IPO) plans, shut down its managed mining unit, and laid off 45% of its staff. Swan’s valuation plummeted as the promised $25 million funding from Tether never materialized.

涉嫌的陰謀給天鵝比特幣造成了巨大的動盪。到 7 月 22 日，該公司放棄了首次公開發行 (IPO) 計劃，關閉了其管理的挖礦部門，並解雇了 45% 的員工。由於 Tether 承諾的 2500 萬美元資金從未兌現，Swan 的估值暴跌。

On Aug. 9, Tether’s legal team sent Swan a “Notice of Event of Default,” claiming Swan breached its funding agreement due to its inability to maintain the necessary personnel. This was followed by the engagement of Proton Management, the new entity formed by Swan’s former employees, which claimed to offer the services of the same team that had left Swan.

8月9日，Tether的法律團隊向Swan發送了一份“違約事件通知”，聲稱Swan因無法維持必要的人員而違反了其融資協議。隨後，Swan 前員工組成的新實體 Proton Management 也加入進來，聲稱將提供與離開 Swan 的團隊相同的服務。

For its part, Tether has denied any wrongdoing, stating it is aware of the allegations but is not named as a defendant in the case.

Tether 否認有任何不當行為，並表示了解這些指控，但沒有被列為該案的被告。

Legal experts noted that while the complaint implies Tether’s involvement, no direct legal claims have been made against the company.

法律專家指出，雖然該投訴暗示 Tether 參與其中，但尚未對該公司提出直接的法律索賠。