After shutting down its operations in Israel and Texas, cryptocurrency mining company Bitmain has reportedly decided to also close its office in Amsterdam.
A spokesperson for the China-based company told CoinDesk that it is currently in the process of closing down its Amsterdam office as part of the firm’s plan to “build a long-term, sustainable and scalable business.” The spokesperson was quoted by the news outlet as saying, “We are really focusing on things that are core to our mission and not things that are auxiliary.”
No information is available on when the closure officially takes place, or how many employees will be given the pink slip.
On LinkedIn, Bitmain stated that it has 2,500 employees with headquarters in Beijing as well as offices and research centers in locations including United States, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, Georgia, Brazil, Netherlands, Israel, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The crypto mining firm, however, has already ceased its Israeli operations in December, leaving all of its 23 staff and Bitmain’s VP for International Sales and Marketing Gadi Glikberg without a job. Bitmain has also reportedly turned the lights off in its BCH development department, affecting an estimated 50% to 85% of employees.
This week, Bitmain also suspended its crypto mining operations in the southern Texas town of Rockdale. All employees at the Rockdale site have been laid off, expect for two engineers and the director of human relations, according to reports. Bitmain had anticipated a $500 million investment for the Texas facility, and promised to provide 400 local residents with jobs.
The news comes on the heels of reports that Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan have stepped down as CEOs of Bitmain. They will be reportedly replaced by Haichao Wang, the product engineering director of the Beijing-based company. Wu, who was demoted from a board director to a “supervisor” in November, is embroiled in several lawsuits including a recent one filed in Florida accusing him and his Chinese government-backed “team of conspirators” of intentional fraud and market manipulation during the November BCH network upgrade.
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