Tether’s high stakes Bitcoin mining lawsuit against a former joint venture partner may finally be coming to a close after a critical concession in the UK High Court.
Per reports from Law360, Tether claims former operating partner Swan Bitcoin has “conceded that its joint venture . . . has exclusive ownership of intellectual property assets and confidential information developed in 2023 and 2024” in a UK High Court hearing.
In an email correspondence to Blockspace received after publication, Swan’s General Counsel stated that the concession was of “minor significance:”
“The litigation with Tether in the UK is ongoing and indeed has barely begun. The issue that Swan voluntarily disposed of a month ago was whether some of the trade secrets and other intellectual property assets developed in the course of the joint venture belong to Swan, which incorporated and ran the joint venture, or to the joint venture itself.
Swan’s efforts remain focused on the core issue in dispute between the parties, namely the conspiracy to which it and the joint venture have fallen victim, and which appears to have been masterminded by Tether, to strip the joint venture of its mining business and to continue the very same business for Tether’s sole enrichment outside the joint venture.”
2040 Energy
The dispute initially arose out of a mutual joint venture between Swan and Tether’s, 2040 Energy. Tether owned an 80% interest, providing $408 million in initial capital, while Swan remained a minority shareholder tasked with business execution. Crucially, Swan did not have any revenue rights from the JV.
The dispute went public in September 2024, with Swan suing an assembly of contractors and employees from the JV, then re-organized under a new firm named Proton Management. Swan claimed Proton had stolen sensitive business information, including proprietary mining software and intellectual property.
Tether fired back in the UK High Court, suing Swan in January 2025. The stablecoin giant claimed Swan was withholding some $5 million in funds. It also sought relief from a California-based lawsuit between Swan Bitcoin and Proton.
Since then, Tether and Swan settled for the funds out of court. A stay judgment from Judge Michelle Williams of the Central District of California followed in May 2025 in the case between Swan and Proton, following a successful motion of stay from the defendant.
Read More: Judge orders pause in Swan lawsuit against former mining employees
Tuesday, Tether accused Swan of “bringing an unlawful claim” to court after Swan “conceded that it did not own the intellectual assets of the joint venture vehicle,” per Law360.
As part of the concessions, Swan will drop its California-based lawsuit, Swan Counsel Edward Levey said.
“We have got documents, which are all currently confidential, which show, quite clearly, that Swan has set out to mislead the California court by pretending that it has a business that it doesn’t have. We have stopped a foreign court process that should never have been brought, that was both unlawful and unconscionable,” Tether counsel Stephen Houseman said Tuesday.
Tether’s PR team declined to comment.
Update (2:18 PM ET September 11, 2025): Added Swan General Counsel comment and Tether PR decline to comment.
