A United States federal judge in Little Rock, Arkansas, temporarily halted Arkansas State officials from stopping a naturalized US citizen of Chinese descent from operating a cryptocurrency mining operation.

On Nov. 25, Chief US District Judge Kristine Baker issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in an Arkansas lawsuit against Jones Eagle, a cryptocurrency mining firm, the Arkansas Advocate reported .

The case was based on two laws — Act 636 of 2023 and Act 174 of 2024 — targeting businesses and property owned by Chinese nationals.

While Act 636 prohibits ownership of property in Arkansas by companies or individuals connected with the Chinese government, Act 174 prohibits the ownership of digital asset mining operations by foreign entities.

Casualty in crackdown on Chinese crypto mining

In the lawsuit, the state alleged that the crypto miner was owned by a Chinese man named Qimin “Jimmy” Chen and demanded a permanent shutdown. 

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However, the defendant is a naturalized US citizen living in New York and had requested the TRO claiming illegal discrimination based on national origin.

US judge supports crypto miner in Chinese ownership dispute image 0

Declarartion of defendent Qimin “Jimmy” Chen. Source: Arkansas Advocate

According to the court documents, Chen owns a majority stake in the crypto-mining firm through Eagle Asset Holding.

Crypto miner prepares for court battle

The temporary restraint will be effective for 14 days, after which a court hearing will be held to discuss a preliminary injunction and an extension of the restraining order to prohibit the state of Arkansas from taking action against the naturalized US citizen. Chen’s attorney, Alex Jones, said:

“The TRO and preliminary injunction will prevent further harm to our client while we prepare for a trial on the merits where we will get to fully present our case as to why the laws are unconstitutional and reflect legislative overreach.”

Chen alleged that he had previously submitted documents to the attorney general to prove that the crypto-mining site was not hosted on agricultural land. He also tried to meet with state authorities regarding his citizenship status but was denied an interaction.

“I have been investigating a number of crypto mining operations and simply seeking the facts, but not all of the entities have cooperated fully,” Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement.

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