The battle between the founders of Bitmain seems to end with Zhan Ketuan taking power

The protracted legal battle between the co-founders of Chinese mining machine maker Bitmain appears to have seen the light of day after the two sides reached an agreement.

Wu Jihan will receive $600 million in compensation

According to Chinese media citing local crypto journalist Colin Wu, Wu Jihan and Zhan Ketuan reached an agreement on a compensation of $600 million, while Zhan Ketuan will retain control of the operations of mining machine manufacturer Bitmain.

However, as part of the settlement agreement, Zhan Ketuan will own the AntPool mining pool and Bitmain's mining farms in China, while Wu Jihan will control Btc.com's mining pool and Bitmain's overseas mining center.

The report detailed that Sequoia Capital is acting as an intermediary regulator in the deal and should approve it once shareholders discuss it, but the terms may change at any stage, with no fixed timetable or even the need for a meeting.

On the other hand, as part of the agreement, Zhan Ketuan is now responsible for the operations of the artificial intelligence department and the entire mining hardware manufacturing enterprise.

However, this means that Zhan Ketuan should temporarily pledge his own shares to raise enough funds to buy Wu Jihan’s shares in Bitmain.

Chinese media also reported that as part of the deal, Zhan Ketuan agreed to complete a qualified IPO in the United States by the end of 2022, with the minimum valuation of his listing expected to be set at $5.5 billion.

Power struggles lead to product delivery delays

The giant crypto mining hardware maker has had some trouble delivering its products due to a year-long feud between its co-founders.

As News.Bitcoin.com reported in August 2020, Bitmain delayed shipments of its Antminer by three months. At the time, Bitmain said the delay was due to “external interference in the company’s management.”

Wu and Zhan Ketuan have been engaged in a bitter battle for control of Bitmain. The two co-founders ran the company together for many years, but Zhan Ketuan was allegedly kicked out of the company last October 2019 due to controversial circumstances.

In June 2020, a Chinese court ruled in favor of Zhan, who holds a 37% stake in the company and controls Bitmain's Shenzhen operations, allowing him to resume management of the company.

Source: News.bitcoin.com