Childhood Friends Battle Over Ownership of North America’s Largest Bitcoin Mine

Just four years ago, two lifelong friends from New Orleans turned a small initial investment into the largest crypto miner in North America.

When their company, Coinmint, bought a former Alcoa plant in upstate New York, they brought hope the new economics of cryptocurrencies would revive a region that suffered with the decline of American manufacturing.

But just as they should be preparing for the impending “halving” of bitcoin in May – an era-defining moment for the industry –  the four-year-old company is now grappling with an existential threat: a lawsuit filed in a Delaware court by one of its two co-founders, who is seeking nothing less than the dissolution of the company and liquidation of its assets. 

The business of mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using high-speed computers is humming: Bitcoin prices are up 36 percent this year alone after nearly doubling in 2019. Mining firms are scrambling to raise capital from investors to set up large-scale data…