Bitmain CEO resigns and settles long-running leadership feud

Jihan Wu has officially resigned as the chief of Bitcoin mining company Bitmain Technologies

Bitmain CEO and co-founder Jihan Wu yesterday announced he had stepped down from his executive position at the crypto mining firm Bitmain. It has been long rumoured that there have been wrangles at the company involving Wu and the co-founder.  Reports suggest that Wu chose to resign after an ugly fight with the co-founder Micree Zhan.

Zhan and Jihan Wu partnered to launch Bitmain back in 2013. However, the two have been at loggerheads and have even engaged in a civil battle since 2019. The power struggle between Zhan and Wu, at one point, nearly brought down the company. The now-former Bitmain CEO posted an encrypted farewell message to his followers on Twitter.

“Regarding the settlement between Bitmain’s two co-founders. Resilio Sync key: BEHPKSVC4IHNZ7YXP2K5TAVZYVYUAO57E,” he posted.

Wu agreed to terms that include a $600 million settlement in cash to cover the company’s 50% share. Zhan will obtain a loan of $400 million from Bitmain’s cash reserves and use another $200 million of his private funds to settle the deal.

“In order to complete the share purchase, Micree obtained a loan of $400 million from Bitmain while he committed to raising another $200m from outside of the group. […] The financials of Bitmain are strong and healthy, so the loan to Micree will not have any negative impact on the sustainability of Bitmain’s operation,” a section of his resignation letter read.

Following his resignation, the board has appointed co-founder Micree to lead the Chinese-based company.  Many Bitcoin users believe that his resignation finally ends the disagreements that have persisted for over a year. Wu sent out a message saying the feud has been settled amicably.

In addition to the monetary compensation, Wu retains the right to appoint two board members. His nominations to the board are Xiang Zhu and Jianchun Liu.

While he is out of Bitmain’s picture, Wu is still present and active in the larger crypto scene. As part of settlement terms, Wu will head Bitmain’s subsidiary Bitdeer. The child company runs mining farms in Norway and the US.