A think-tank has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a crypto mining firm in Tennessee, challenging a local county’s blanket ban on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities.

The case was filed on March 31 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee by the non-profit think-tank, the Beacon Center of Tennessee, on behalf of ExoticRidge Crypto Company LLC, a Kentucky-based cryptomining company.

The lawsuit targets a Hawkins County resolution passed in September 2025 that prohibits cryptocurrency mining and data center operations in the county. Beacon argues the measure is unconstitutional, arbitrary, and was enacted in violation of Tennessee law.

ExoticRidge had planned to build an 8MW bitcoin mining facility in Bulls Gap, in east Tennessee, next to a fractionation plant. According to Beacon and local reporting, the company says the site would generate its own electricity on-site using ethane from the adjacent facility rather than drawing power from the local grid.

That off-grid setup is central to the company’s argument. In its complaint, ExoticRidge says the proposed site would not burden public utilities or require major public infrastructure, and that the county’s blanket ban wrongly lumps its project in with grid-connected developments.

Hawkins County passed the ban after opposition from local residents, who raised concerns about noise and possible impacts on electricity costs. Local news outlet WUOT reported that nearby residents opposed having a Bitcoin mine in the area, even after the company said it would self-generate power and try to mitigate sound levels.

Beacon’s complaint alleges Hawkins County violated ExoticRidge’s equal protection and due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and also imposed what amounts to zoning-style restrictions without following the procedures required under Tennessee law.

The case is another example of mounting local resistance to crypto mining and data center development in parts of the US, particularly where projects face scrutiny over noise, land use, and power consumption. In this instance, the dispute turns on whether a county can impose a blanket ban even on a project that says it will operate independently of the grid.

In February, an Ohio township enacted a 12-month moratorium on applications for new data centers. In March, US Senators Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill that would seek to ban crypto mining data centers nationwide.