- Micree Zhan, the ousted Bitmain CEO, used a private army to force its way into the Bitmain offices in Beijing
- Zhan has been battling with co-founder Jihan Wu for control over the company since 2019
- Not the first physical battle in the Bitmain war
Micree Zhan, the ousted CEO of Bitmain, took his attempts to regain control of the company to the next level yesterday when he roped in a private army to help him gain access to the Bitmain offices in Beijing. The staggering development marks a major escalation in the battle over the Bitcoin mining company, although the actual reason for the intrusion is not yet clear.
Bitmain Battle Turns Military
The Bitmain power struggle has been going on for some time but really intensified in late 2019 when co-founder Jihan Wu took advantage of Zhan’s absence in London to attempt a coup and regain control of the company. A war of words and legal battle over the ownership of the company escalated into actual fight last month when Zhan went to the Beijing Haidian District Justice Bureau to collect some documentation relating to the business, where he had a physical encounter with some high ranking Bitmain employees.
Zhan Fights Back
Zhan was formally ousted from the company just over a week ago, with threats of legal action if he were to interfere in its operations. It seems however that Zhan has done rather more than interfere with Bitmain’s operations – he hired his own private army to force its way into the Bitmain building:
😂😂😂OH MAN the #BitMainDrama this video is verified by @BlockBeatsChina
Micree today led a team of private guards crashed Bitmain Beijing office … they broke in by brute force and tried to take back the control (after Jihan’s initial coup and series of outrageous behavior) pic.twitter.com/wkpKJ8Nr8H
— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🪐🦖 (@DoveyWan) June 4, 2020
It is not yet known what Zhan actually hoped to achieve by such action, but it shows a clear escalation of tensions in the fight over Bitmain, with the ramifications likely to take a few days to become clear.
Antminer T19 Released
The battle over its ownership hasn’t stopped Bitmain doing what they do best and making Bitcoin mining hardware. Their latest machine, the Antminer T19, was released on Monday, with the company hoping that its upgraded firmware will address the failings of its predecessor, the S17, which failed at a rate of five times the ‘normal’ rate of 5%.
Meet the new Antminer T19
