Bitmain Saga Over: Jihan Wu Steps Down as CEO
Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu officially announced his resignation in a signed statement published on Tuesday.
- An excerpt from Wu’s cryptographic message reads: “The disagreement between Micree and myself, the two co-founders of Bitmain, has been finally settled in an amicable and, more importantly, a constructive manner.”
- As part of the settlement, fellow co-founder and rival Micree Zhan bought out Wu’s ownership equity valued at $600 million.
- According to Wu’s statement, two-third of that sum ($400 million) was raised via a loan from the company. The development confirms earlier reports from news sources in China saying the Bitmain power tussle saga was close to its conclusion in an amicable settlement between the parties.
- The Bitmain saga began in 2019, with the co-founders initially forced to step down. Wu later returned to the scene and attempted to boot Zhan from the company.
- At the zenith of the squabble, Zhan reportedly stormed Bitmain’s office in Beijing with private guards.
- Wu’s exit also sees him gain full control of Bitmain’s mining establishments outside China. Bitdeer now becomes a separate entity from the popular crypto mining maker and oversees mining interests in Norway and the U.S.
- Zhan will be left in charge of the Antpool mining pool as well as Bitmain’s mining activities in China. Zhan also heads Bitmain’s artificial intelligence (AI) enterprise.
- Despite his exit, Wu will still have powers to nominate two people into Bitmain’s five-person board in the lead up to the company’s latest attempt at an initial public offering.
- Commenting on Bitmain’s structure moving forward, Wu noted: “Through the above-mentioned arrangement, Bitmain’s business model will be highly streamlined, which will make it much easier to go for an IPO.”
- Bitmain’s first initial public offering (IPO) filing in Hong Kong fell through in 2018 following disapproval from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). The bitcoin mining giant revived plans for another IPO later in 2019 in the U.S.
- Wu’s official exit is also coming at the time of severe miner scarcity occasioned by the global semiconductor shortage. The company’s line of crypto mining rigs is currently sold out through August 2021.
