Law360 (August 10, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT) -- A cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence data center in rural North Carolina is emitting a cacophony that is destroying local residents' quality of life, according to neighbors who allege the operators have refused to take steps to mitigate the alleged nuisance.
Local residents Judith Stines and William Huffman say in a proposed
class action removed Friday to federal court that facility operators responsible for a three-acre cryptocurrency mining operation and data center in Murphy, North Carolina, have not invested in basic noise abatement measures. As a result, they say neighbors are forced to suffer through "unrelenting" noise coming from the facility's high-powered servers, generators and cooling systems.
Stines and Huffman also say they have spotted new equipment at the site, suggesting a possible expansion of the facility and further noise emissions.
"The facility has caused significant disruption for its neighbors, who are largely residential property owners, interfering with their right to quiet enjoyment of their property and diminishing the value of their property by emitting unreasonable and excessive noise," the complaint stated.
The defendants are the California-based bitcoin mining company PrimeBlock and its affiliates, including an entity known as Exponential Digital LLC. Exponential Digital was previously known as Ankr Mining Solutions Inc., according to the complaint.
Innotech Z Inc., which allegedly began working with PrimeBlock on construction, operation and maintenance at the data center last year, is also a named defendant.
Stines and Huffman are seeking to represent a class of residents who own property or have lived within a two-mile radius of the data center since September 2021, when it began operations. The suit estimates nearly 1,000 property owners fit within that radius.
According to the complaint, Murphy is a town of 1,852 residents in the rural mountains of western North Carolina. It's the seat of Cherokee County and is home to a portion of land held in trust for the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
PrimeBlock began operating a cryptocurrency mining and data center out of five shipping containers in Murphy in mid-2021, the suit states. Stines and Huffman say residents immediately began complaining of "unremitting noise," which they allege has "shattered" the otherwise quiet community.
"The inescapable, continual noise and vibrations have a disastrous effect on the quality of life for those around the data center, resulting in annoyance, anxiety and emotional distress, disruption of sleep and its associated consequences, physical symptoms, and diminution of property value," the residents said.
While the county has since passed a moratorium on new cryptocurrency mining centers being built, Stines and Huffman say the ordinance doesn't apply to existing facilities or data centers.
They say the facility has not only interfered with their ability to enjoy their property but has also resulted in rolling blackouts because of an alleged strain on the power grid.
The complaint alleges cryptocurrency mining and data centers "produce nothing," employ "almost no one" and serve "no local need." According to Stines and Huffman, the entire model is predicated on consuming a region's electricity and natural resources for profit, often at the expense of local residents.
The "enormous" amount of energy needed to power cryptocurrency mining and data centers is what generates the incessant noise, Stines and Huffman say. The sources allegedly include the servers themselves, the generators needed for backup power and the cooling systems that prevent the servers from overheating, they say.
The suit asserts that a typical data center generates between 75 and 85 decibels of noise, but it can allegedly climb as high as 90 decibels. By comparison, the average home emits about 50 decibels. According to the complaint, prolonged exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can be harmful to a person's hearing.
Stines and Huffman say there are ways to reduce those noise levels, including soundproof barriers, soundproof blankets on outdoor equipment and pads placed under machines to stop vibrations.
But operators of smaller facilities, like the one in Murphy, are typically focused on "minimizing time and cost in construction, which often means minimal attention to noise abatement," they said.
Stines and Huffman have asserted claims for private and public nuisance, negligence, gross negligence, and willful or wanton conduct. They are also seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Representatives from PrimeBlock could not be reached Monday for comment, and a spokesperson for Ankr did not respond to a request for comment.
Counsel for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Stines and Huffman are represented by W. Stacy Miller II and MaryAnne M. Hamilton of
Miller Law Group PLLC, Elliot S. Abrams of
Cheshire Parker Schneider Abrams PLLC and Scott C. Harris and James R. DeMay of Bryson Harris Suciu DeMay PLLC.
Innotech Z is represented by Joseph D. Hammond and Thomas H. Segars of
Ellis & Winters LLP.
Counsel information for the remaining defendants was not available Monday.
The case is Stines et al. v. PrimeBlock Operations LLC et al., case number
1:26-cv-00225, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
--Editing by Janice Carter Brown.
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