New CEO to take the helm at bitcoin mining giant Bitmain: Report

Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain will soon have a new chief executive officer, who will replace co-founders Wu Jihan and Zhan Ketuan, South China Morning Post reported.

Sources familiar with the matter told the news outlet that the successor is likely to be Wang Haichao, who has been serving as the director of product engineering. They went on to state that Haichao has already taken over duties from the co-founders and is currently in a transition period that began in December.

Sources added that the company has not decided for a definite timeline for Haichao to take the helm as the new CEO.

Wu and Zhan founded Bitmain in 2013. Wu holds 21 percent stake in the company while Zhan has 37 percent ownership. They will continue as co-chairs of the company but will move away from Bitmain’s daily operations. That said, they will still have the final call on major decisions.

The leadership changes follow Bitmain’s efforts to publicly list in Hong Kong last September. Reports suggest that the company is unlikely to get the approval for its initial public offering (IPO) as the country’s regulators see a lack of regulation in the cryptocurrency industry.

More recently, the company confirmed its plans to lay off staff. The move comes as the crypto industry continues to reel under the effects of a prolonged bear market. ConsenSys and ShapeShift have also announced layoffs recently.