In the current power struggle of mining giant Bitmain, not only have accusations of „illegal takeovers“ made headlines, but also the physical theft of mining hardware.

The struggle for power in Bitmain reaches a new level
A new post on Bitcoin Lifestyle proprietary WeChat channel alleges that former Bitmain employees „illegally moved“ 10,000 Antminer mining platforms from a company-owned facility in Mongolia.

The machines, including models of the S17 and T17 series and the flagship S9, were allegedly removed in mid-July, causing „serious financial losses to the company and customers“. The incident has been reported to the police and public security authorities.

Not only is Bitmain’s own hardware at stake, but also that of customers who choose to have their mining hardware operated and stored on the company’s mining farms.

US company buys 17,000 Bitcoin mining equipment from Bitmain

In a post on the Bitmain account in Weibo, co-founder Micree Ketuan Zhan – one of the parties to the Bitmain power struggle – accused his co-founder Jihan Wu of being responsible for the „illegal transfer“ of the machines.

Power, property and office struggles
The context of this week’s stolen miners‘ story is a conflict over which of the two co-founders has the position of legal representative in Bitmain.

Since October 2019, when Wu allegedly dismissed Zhan in what the latter referred to as an „illegal takeover,“ the two have been involved in an extremely public battle for control of the company.

Bitmain co-founder offers to buy $4 million in shares

Bitmain’s chief financial officer was arrested in May after allegedly participating in an alleged „mafia attack“ on Zhan, in response to the latter’s controversial attempt to regain the role of legal representative in Bitmain’s Chinese subsidiary.

In June, reports of intense fighting claimed that Zhan had hired guards to take control of Bitmain’s Beijing office by force. Zhan also took legal action in his attempt to regain control.

Wu now retains formal authority over Bitmain’s Hong Kong-based operations, and the company reaffirmed Zhan’s takeover last October. Zhan continues, through various means, its attempts to regain control of the mainland operations.