Tether 以盗用专有信息为由起诉 Swan Bitcoin

Tether 和 Swan Bitcoin 于 2022 年合作建立了一家名为 2040 Energy 的比特币挖矿企业。 Tether 提供资金，Swan 负责运营。

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.

比特币金融服务公司 Swan Bitcoin 向英格兰和威尔士高等法院对其前律师事务所 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher 提起诉讼，指控其在处理与竞争对手 Proton Management 的纠纷时存在法律不当行为。

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.

该诉讼源于 Swan 与其几名前员工之间更广泛的冲突，这些前员工于 2023 年离开公司成立了 Proton。斯旺指控这些员工盗用专有信息来创建竞争公司。

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.

根据吉布森的起诉书，邓恩最初受 Swan 委托，对 Proton 提起法律诉讼，因为 Proton 涉嫌利用窃取的商业机密破坏 Swan 在与 Tether 合资的比特币挖矿企业中的作用。然而，尽管存在利益冲突，该律师事务所在接受 Tether 作为客户后随后退出了此案。

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首席执行官Cory Klippsten批评了该公司的行为，称吉布森的决定“让Swan措手不及”，对其采矿业务造成了严重损害。

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.

该诉讼称，Gibson、Dunn 未能充分调查针对 Proton 的指控，并且未能告知 Swan 因其代表 Tether 而产生的潜在利益冲突。因此，Swan 声称它失去了对 Proton 采取法律行动的机会，最终导致该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 指责 Tether 在其前员工所谓的政变企图中发挥了作用，但 Tether 否认有任何不当行为。

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 在给 CoinDesk 的一份声明中表示，“了解 Swan 在此事中提出的指控，但我们没有被列为该案的被告。”

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

声明补充说：“我们完全按照合资协议规定的合同权利行事，并期待在法庭上陈述我们的案件。”

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.

该诉讼详细描述了导致 Swan 关键员工大规模辞职的事件，最终导致该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.

投诉称，Tether 的顾问 Zach Lyons 鼓励 Swan 的前员工离开，并暗示 Tether 不再认为 Swan 的业务有价值。该诉讼描述了据称里昂斯在会议上破坏了斯旺的领导地位，并为员工提供法律掩护，以模仿斯旺的采矿业务。

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.

涉嫌的阴谋给天鹅比特币造成了巨大的动荡。到 7 月 22 日，该公司放弃了首次公开募股 (IPO) 计划，关闭了其管理的挖矿部门，并解雇了 45% 的员工。由于 Tether 承诺的 2500 万美元资金从未兑现，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的法律团队向Swan发送了一份“违约事件通知”，声称Swan因无法维持必要的人员而违反了其融资协议。随后，Swan 前员工组建的新实体 Proton Management 也加入进来，声称将提供与离开 Swan 的团队相同的服务。

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 否认有任何不当行为，表示了解这些指控，但没有被列为该案的被告。

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

法律专家指出，虽然该投诉暗示 Tether 参与其中，但尚未对该公司提出直接的法律索赔。