In a new twist in Bitmainâs ongoing power struggle, co-founder Jihan Wu has regained the legal representative status of the bitcoin miner maker giant.
Chinaâs business registration record update on Sept. 14 shows Wu has again become the legal representative and executive director of Beijing Bitmain Technology, the operating entity of Bitmain.
Subsequently, Micree Zhan, the rival co-founder who was ousted last October by Wu but regained control earlier this year, is no longer the legal representative and executive director but remains a general manager of the firm.
The role of a companyâs legal representative in China has broad powers to act on a firmâs behalf and usually also holds the companyâs official seal, a crucial element for signing company decisions into effect.
In an announcement published Sept. 15 via the WeChat account of Bitmainâs AntMiner brand, Wu reaffirmed the status update and said the companyâs respect for Zhan âremains unchanged.â
The update suggests Bitmainâs internal power fight may have come to a short-term end although the two sidesâ lawsuit in the Cayman Islands â where Bitmainâs parent holding entity resides â is pending for a final judgment.
Wu added in the announcement that Bitmainâs management now aims to work out sustainable solutions to solve all kinds of problems caused for employees, investors and customers due to the co-foundersâ war of words.
âSince 2020, the managementâs feud has damaged Bitmainâs market shares and its brand image. We have lost customers and employees were forced to take sides,â Bitmain said in the post. âVarious breaking events and negative news even thwarted our plan to go public. Our equity option promised to employees almost became a useless piece of paper.â
Read more: Leaked Transcript Details Power Struggle Inside Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain
In an October coup last year, Wu removed Zhanâs role as Bitmainâs chairman, executive director and legal representative even though Zhan is the biggest shareholder of Bitmain. Wu alleged that Zhanâs leadership during 2019 caused serious issues â including a significant drop in Bitmainâs bitcoin miner market share. Zhan filed a lawsuit in the Cayman Islands in December over the legitimacy of Wuâs move.
The event has quickly escalated to a yearlong power struggle. Earlier this year, Zhan regained his status as a legal representative after winning the local governmentâs favor and forcing his way into Bitmainâs Beijing office.
Read more: How Was It Possible for Bitmain to Oust Its Largest Shareholder Overnight?
Soon after that, Bitmainâs manufacturing business for bitcoin mining equipment was essentially hard-forked into two with each side trying to establish their own sales arms and factory supply chains.
As a result, Bitmainâs employees were forced to take sides and the stand-off caused significant shipment delays for Bitmainâs customers, many of whom had to turn to rival miner makers such as Shenzhen-based MicroBT.