Bitmain Fights Micree Zhan Over 36 Percent Ownership Claim

Bitmain, the largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining rigs in the world, has found itself mired in an ugly leadership dispute, as its current and former chief executive has begun fighting over control of the company. 

Earlier today, the company published a statement in which it disputed the claims of former CEO Micree Ketuan Zhan over the ownership of a majority stake in the firm. 

Ownership Stake Claim is ‘Baseless’

The bad blood between Zhan and Wu isn’t news. Wu had dismissed Zhan in a sudden power grab last October, after he fired his former partner from Bitmain’s board of directors and stripped him of all executive power. Wu also warned all Bitmain employees not to have any business dealings with Zhan moving forward. 

In response, Zhan immediately committed to suing Bitmain and Wu for what he deemed wrongful termination. In the months since then, Zhan has filed two complaints against Bitmain and its subsidiary, Fujian Zhanhua Intelligence Technologies.

In one of his filings, Zhan asserted that he owned 36 percent of Fujian Zhanhua Intelligence Technologies. However, in their recent statement, Bitmain disputed the fact, claiming that Zhan had offered no proof to back his claim up. On such grounds, they termed his claims baseless and dismissed them.

“The ruling reported by the media is only a procedural jurisdiction ruling, that is, the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court finally ruled that the case should be tried by the Fuzhou Changle District People’s Court,” Bitmain said

While there have been no legal proceedings yet, there is every indication that the issue will evolve into a full-blown legal battle. Bitmain’s management had assured shareholders that the firm wouldn’t be affected by the outcome of the proceedings. 

New Bitmain Miners are Flopping 

Bitmain assured investors that operations would remain intact, while Fujian Zhanhua will also remain under the firm’s absolute control. As for the company’s operations, there’s also quite a lot to be desired. Bitmain has been struggling significantly since the year began, as rumors circulated in early January that the firm was looking to let go of 50 percent of its workforce. 

There’s also the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted operations across several industries. Several firms in the mining space have raised concerns over the possible effects of a possible virus-induced downturn, and there’s every indication that Bitmain has suffered as well. 

Then, there’s the company’s recent lackluster performance with its latest product. Bitmain launched the S17 and T17 Antminer rigs last week, hoping to help optimize mining processes and bolster its sales in the process. 

Sadly, things haven’t gone as planned. Yesterday, Samson Mow, the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream, announced on Twitter that Bitcoin miners using the new rig had reported significant technical issues. 

Delving deeper, he explained that the rigs heat sinks have been falling off, thus causing them to short out entirely. In addition, users have also reported that power supply fans are faulty. Both of these pieces were designed to regulate the heat generated by the gear as it works. However, these issues have caused significant challenges – so much so that almost a third of all rigs have shorted out.

Read more: 

• Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu Pushes Co-founder Out the Door