Bitfarms Interim CEO Departs as Board Undergoes Restructuring

Key takeaways:

• Nicolas Bonta, the CEO and acting president of Bitfarms, a Canadian crypto mining company, will resign from the board.
• Bitfarms stated in its second-quarter 2024 reports that it mined 614 Bitcoin, worth $37 million and that its stock increased by almost 22%.

Nicolas Bonta, the CEO and acting president of Bitfarms, a Canadian crypto mining company, will resign from the board.

Amidst Riot Platforms’ attempted takeover, Bitfarms announced the hiring of a new board member in a notice dated August 13. The mining company reports that lead director Brian Howlett will take on the role of independent chairman, and CEO Ben Gagnon will join the board. 

Before Gagnon was named in July, Bonta served as acting president and CEO from May till he “decided to step down” from the board. The apparent reason for the change in leadership was unrelated to Riot’s months-long pursuit to acquire the mining company.

Riot started to increase its ownership of Bitfarms and made a bid to buy the company for $950 million in May. Riot’s interests were capped at 15% by Bitfarms using a “poison pill” method, a move that Canadian regulators later prohibited. 

Riot announced on July 29 that it possessed 16.9% of Bitfarms’ common shares and that it planned to remove Bonta and three other board members at a meeting of the company’s shareholders, which is set for October 29. 

Bitfarms stated in its second-quarter 2024 reports that it mined 614 Bitcoin, worth $37 million and that its stock increased by almost 22%.

On June 13, Riot Platforms publicly denounced Bitfarms’ recent use of a poison pill tactic to avert a possible takeover. Riot describes the action as “shareholder unfriendly” and emphasizes Bitfarms’ lax corporate governance policies.

The CEO of the decentralized exchange dYdX has stepped down from his role after seven years as the head of the crypto derivatives platform. In a May blog post, Antonio Juliano announced his decision to assume the positions of chairman and president, so relinquishing his daily operation of the exchange.