Business
‘Town Crier’ newsletter – Briefs from the Region (2) – 1/16/20
Butte Bitcoin plant sees US Judge-appointed oversight
CryptoWatt, a Bitcoin mining plant located in Butte, will see new leadership after U.S. District Judge Brian Morris appointed retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch as the company’s receiver—with a handsome $22,500 per month collection for his services, reports the Associated Press. The decision comes after majority owner Matthew Goettsche, 37, was alleged to have been running a Ponzi scheme, simultaneously failing to foot the bill for the massive amounts of energy required to mine the controversial cyptocurreny (Bitcoin mining forms new Bitcoins, thus raising overall market volume). Goettsche also allegedly failed to appropriately compensate a minimum of 32 employees. Goettsche was recently charged in New Jersey with “conspiracy to engage in wire fraud in connection with his role in BitClub Network. The network solicited money from investors in exchange for purported shares of cryptocurrency mining pools, prosecutors said.” The appointment comes at the request of minority owner Kevin Washington and operator Rick Tabish.
