Bitcoin mining ASIC manufacturer, Bitmain, has recently been exposed to a shocking truth. According to information obtained from company employees, the circuit producer was unable to make salary payments for the months of September and October. With the increasing hash rate and the inability of Bitcoin prices to cover costs, many mining facilities have made the decision to halt production.
What’s Happening at Bitmain?
According to news sources, information has been gathered from multiple Bitmain employees regarding the issue. It is alleged that the company has cut bonuses and incentives for its staff and has not yet paid salaries due since September. Additionally, employees have encountered a 50% deduction in their salaries as per their contracts. However, company officials have sent a message to their employees regarding this matter:
“The company has not yet achieved a positive cash flow, especially in new ASIC orders for the month of September. Therefore, the senior management team has decided to suspend the payment of September salaries for review after the holidays, starting from October 7th.”
Established in Beijing, China in 2013, Bitmain was once responsible for 70% of the market share and was one of the world’s largest ASIC manufacturers. The Antminer ASIC series offered by the company was a preferred product for many companies and is currently the industry leader in hash rate calculations for Bitcoin mining.
In August, Bitcoin mining company Hive announced that it had purchased 2,000 Bitmain S19 XP ASICs to be integrated into its systems. With a price tag of $4,653 listed by Bitmain, Hive stated that it would generate $80 in revenue per megawatt-hour from the company’s entire system after the integration process.
Not the First Crisis at the Company
The first crisis at Bitmain occurred in 2021. A year-long ownership dispute between co-founders Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan was resolved at that time. According to the timeline of events, Wu resigned from his positions as chairman of the board and CEO of Bitmain and sold his company shares to Zhan for $600 million.
Following these developments, Bitmain had plans to go public by the end of 2022. The company’s executives estimated that they would generate $5 billion in revenue through this process. However, the ongoing bear market during this period caused all these plans to fall apart.
