The film-like power struggle between the two founders of a $ 15 billion digital mining company

Bitmain founder and billionaire Wu Juhan announced on Tuesday that he fired the co-founder of the company. This move clearly shows the contradictions, conflicts, control disputes are happening in the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining startup.

Micree Zhan Ketuan, who started Bitmain with Wu six years ago, no longer holds any position at the company and the decision will be enforced immediately, Wu said in an internal statement. He also warned his staff that they would not have to obey any instructions from Zhan or attend any meeting he convened. Mr. Wu even threatened to fire or criminalize employees if they failed to comply with the request.

Nishant Sharman, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment on this statement.

“If an employee poses any threat to the company’s economic interests, the company will investigate civil or criminal liability according to law,” Wu wrote in the statement. Zhan has not yet made any comments or answered the reporters’ questions.

The two co-founders of Bitmain have held the position of co-CEO for quite a long time, but this year was replaced by Wang Haichao – at a time when the company was facing a layoffs and a severe shortage of cash due to the plummeting Bitcoin price. . The power struggle has raised questions about the state of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining startup.

Bitmain – currently valued at $ 15 billion after last round of funding.

Wu and Xhan respectively hold 21 and 37% of the company. Wu is president of Bitmain’s business. Zhan, on the other hand, led the chip design team and the artificial intelligence chip manufacturing division.

This year, Wu founded a virtual currency financial services startup called Matrixport. He recently won the position of Bitmain’s legal representative from Zhan.