Wu Jihan's Full Internal Letter: Bitmain Has Twice Faced Cash Flow Breakdowns and Was on the Brink of Collapse; No More Illusions About Zhan Ketuan's Camp
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Wu Jihan's Full Internal Letter: Bitmain Has Twice Faced Cash Flow Breakdowns and Was on the Brink of Collapse; No More Illusions About Zhan Ketuan's Camp
Removing Jihan Wu from his position was by no means due to personal grievances, but an unavoidable choice made by Bitmain Technologies for its continued survival and development.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsTo All Colleagues at Beijing Bitmain:
Since the release of our previous "Letter to All Colleagues," the dispute between the company and Jihan Wu has continued to evolve, prompting many colleagues to express concern and seek clarification. Given that various aspects of our operations have inevitably been affected, we believe it necessary to further explain the background and context in detail.
As one of the earliest Chinese translators of Satoshi Nakamoto’s blockchain whitepaper, Mr. Wu Jihan invited Zhan Ketuan to collaborate in 2013 to introduce and promote blockchain technology. Mr. Wu asked Zhan to assemble a team to develop mining hardware and promised that upon successful development, Zhan and his technical team would hold a majority stake in the company.
Mr. Wu Jihan is Company Employee #001; Zhan Ketuan is Employee #002. Following the launch of our first-generation mining machine, Mr. Wu honored his commitment—this is how Zhan came to own 60% of the company in its early days.
However, Zhan failed to fulfill his equity promises to the original technical team, leading key members—including Employee #004—to leave the company.
In the early entrepreneurial phase, it was also Mr. Wu who proposed the ASIC “full-custom” strategy, convincing Zhan and the team to implement it. This led to the in-house development of ASIC chips and the successive launch of iconic products that established our industry leadership. Yet again, Zhan failed to fairly distribute benefits among core technical personnel, resulting in the departure of the second-generation technical leadership—many of whom later became major competitors.
- In 2016, it was Mr. Wu who advocated expanding into AI, a move that brought initial success. However, despite being among the earliest companies in China to enter the AI space, we failed to maintain our lead. Colleagues who have walked this journey with us know well the reasons behind this.
- In 2017, as digital assets surged, the company experienced explosive growth, becoming a high-profile unicorn. Unfortunately, Zhan’s leadership could not keep pace with the company’s rapid expansion. He grew increasingly arrogant and self-centered: recklessly expanding headcount, launching nearly 200 projects simultaneously regardless of technical feasibility, creating bloated inefficiencies across departments. He treated the company as his personal property, squandering resources. In mid-2018, ignoring bearish market conditions, he overruled established strategies and insisted on mass-producing a chip already known to be defective during testing—wasting over $600 million on a single project. His management style was abusive—he frequently insulted employees, an experience shared by many. We even feel some sympathy for those few groups still clinging to him today.
- By late September 2018, the finance team discovered a cash shortfall of hundreds of millions of RMB expected in October, marking the first liquidity crisis since our startup phase. Mr. Wu insisted on cost-cutting and streamlining, which triggered serious conflict with Zhan.
The company had long operated under a dual-CEO structure.
On December 17, 2018, while Mr. Wu was on a business trip in Hong Kong, Zhan individually called and messaged members of the management team, asking them to choose between him and Mr. Wu as sole CEO. That morning, he convened an emergency meeting at Fengdu Jiahe Hotel, demanding appointment as the only CEO—and even threatened to cancel stock options for anyone who opposed him.
Despite this pressure, most management members refused to support his unilateral takeover. Mr. Wu rushed back to Beijing and reached a compromise: both would step back from day-to-day management, and the team would elect a new CEO to lead the company. A new CEO was elected, initial downsizing began, and the company narrowly avoided collapse.
Yet while Mr. Wu upheld his promise and withdrew, Zhan quickly returned, insisting the new CEO report directly to him and making all decisions unilaterally—effectively sidelining the newly appointed leader. Chaos resumed. By September 2019, financial projections showed a funding gap reaching $300 million by end-October. To the outside world, we remained a shining star—but internally, we were on the brink of total collapse. The severity of this second liquidity crisis far exceeded the first. It was precisely this existential threat that led to the shareholders’ decision on October 28, 2019, removing Zhan from all his positions within the company.
Unwilling to accept this outcome, on December 9, 2019, Zhan used his holding entity to convene a Cayman Islands Bitmain shareholder meeting, proposing to reinstate himself. At that meeting, every other shareholder—both internal and external—rejected the proposal.
We recount this history not to erase Zhan’s earlier contributions, but to clarify the facts so that every colleague understands: removing Zhan was never about personal vendettas—it was a necessary choice for Bitmain Group’s survival and future development.
The company’s success stems from the combined efforts of both founders and all colleagues alike. No individual should ever place themselves above the organization.
We are not claiming that Zhan has always been incompetent or that Mr. Wu has made no mistakes.
But regarding Zhan—especially his transformation since 2017—longtime employees have witnessed it firsthand. After achieving success, he became so inflated that he could no longer tolerate any dissenting views, trapped in his own delusions. The saying “can endure hardship but not prosperity” fits him perfectly.
After Mr. Wu’s return, he threw himself into rescuing the company. We realigned our strategy around customer-centricity, refocusing product development on market and customer needs—including launching the highly successful Antminer S19 in March. As a result, we achieved strong positive cash flow in the first half of this year, not only overcoming the crisis but also weathering the pandemic, enjoying eight months of stability and progress. Every colleague has felt these changes—please reflect honestly: If the company were handed back to Zhan’s control, reverting to the chaotic state of Q1–Q2 last year, how long could we survive?
Our intent in changing leadership was solely to survive and grow—not to settle personal scores. Thus, at the end of 2019, we did not alter Zhan’s roles at Century Cloudchip or Fujian Maker, and retained Zhou Feng as General Manager of Shenzhen Century Cloudchip, entrusting him with important responsibilities.
But instead of reflecting on why he lost the trust of the management team and other Cayman shareholders, Zhan intensified his interference and sabotage of company operations. Especially after regaining temporary access to the business license via administrative review in May this year, he falsely claimed the company seals were lost and擅自刻制 (illegally carved) and registered new ones. Despite having been removed from all positions at Beijing Bitmain, he exploited the time gap during which he remained officially listed as legal representative, using the seals and credentials in his possession to escalate his actions:
He led security guards and outsiders to forcibly break into company offices, attempting a full takeover—putting company assets, archives, and trade secrets at risk of theft and exposure;
He changed bank预留印鉴 (reserved seals) for the company and several subsidiaries, altered online banking permissions, causing loss of control over corporate accounts and preventing finance staff from operating them; he modified tax registrations, disrupting normal tax filing and payment processes—bringing financial management to the verge of paralysis and casting doubt on whether loans can be repaid on time;
He filed litigation seeking personal ownership of 36% equity in Fujian Zhanhua, and even issued an unauthorized power of attorney attempting to appoint lawyers representing both defendant Fujian Zhanhua and third party Beijing Bitmain in court—aiming to control both sides of the lawsuit. Fortunately, the judge saw through this and denied the request;
With assistance from Zhou Feng and others, he obstructed Century Cloudchip from shipping according to group directives, and even diverted and sold more than 100 million RMB worth of inventory through his personally held companies—the proceeds of which remain unaccounted for. Meanwhile, supplier payments remain overdue, even after Chongqing Silicon Origin made additional payments exceeding 100 million RMB out of goodwill toward customers—severely damaging the reputation of both Century Cloudchip and the Bitmain Group;
He offered promotions to mining farm staff and attempted to manipulate individual employees into altering settings on certain mining machines. Although detected and stopped in time, he recently launched a midnight "raid" at the Zhenglanqi mining farm, illegally transferring over 10,000 supercomputing servers whose current whereabouts are unknown—possibly already resold;
He repeatedly harassed service providers, trying to convince them he represents Beijing Bitmain. Most saw through his deception and refused, but a few were temporarily misled. On July 10, he even entered parts of our server colocation facilities in the early hours and physically unplugged network cables, rendering critical departments unable to function to this day. He seized control of our communication channels, causing our official WeChat account to go dark and our Weibo account to malfunction, even posting fake Bitmain payment accounts, after-sales websites, and email addresses;
Most intolerable of all, he has continuously harassed and threatened employees, ordering them to follow his instructions. When most refused, he issued numerous fake notices of suspension and termination of employment contracts, sent people to harass staff at their homes—only to be stopped by police—and then posted public notices at residential complexes exposing private employee information. His conduct has been utterly reprehensible.
Given Zhan’s actions since his removal, the company has no choice but to sever ties further and fully protect our rights and those of our employees. Therefore, we have removed Zhan and Zhou Feng from their positions at Fujian Maker and Century Cloudchip—a decision announced to Century Cloudchip colleagues on July 13. In light of his actual behavior, Zhan’s claim that “employees should not be drawn into shareholder disputes” and “must not violate discipline because of this” rings hollow and hypocritical.
Zhan has spread false rumors claiming that since June 8, the executive directors of Bitmain Tech have been replaced with himself and Li Hai. However, neither Cayman Bitmain nor Bitmain Tech has made such a decision. The sole director of Bitmain Tech remains Mr. Wu Jihan (see attached latest company registry documents). Zhan has also attempted to leverage government credibility to legitimize his claims. But for enterprises like Beijing Bitmain, appointments and removals of management and legal representatives are matters of corporate autonomy—not subject to governmental approval. His actions are therefore inappropriate.
Indeed, updates to Beijing Bitmain’s registration information have been met with full resistance from Zhan, and related procedures may not be completed immediately. The company does not intend to hide this reality from colleagues. Nevertheless, we firmly believe that both administrative and judicial authorities will ultimately uphold the rule of law and handle matters fairly and legally.
The change in Century Cloudchip’s leadership marks a new phase in our relationship with Zhan. We no longer harbor illusions that he will respect basic boundaries during this dispute period or safeguard the interests of customers, the company, employees, and suppliers.
We are determined to restore normalcy to the mining hardware supply chain as soon as possible. To this end, we have activated Supply Chain Division Two to assume Century Cloudchip’s former role within the group until operations stabilize.
We are determined to ensure stability in mining farm and pool operations. Any attempt to disrupt these services—particularly if it jeopardizes our commitments to customers or threatens group assets—will be met with swift legal action.
We are determined to continue advancing R&D in mining and AI chips, grounded in real market and customer needs, while rapidly restoring IT systems so impacted colleagues can resume work, and implementing safeguards to prevent recurrence.
We are determined to activate contingency plans to honor our commitments to all colleagues and protect employee labor rights.
We are determined to pursue all available legal remedies against parties harming company interests, disrupting operations, or misappropriating assets. These matters strike at the core of our survival. Each case is vital, and we will see every legal proceeding through to conclusion. We believe truth will prevail, the law must be respected, and violations will carry consequences.
Above all, no matter what happens, Bitmain will never abandon our vision of becoming a world-leading technology company. We will march forward resolutely toward this goal. To achieve it, we will deepen R&D investment, remove obstacles, retain and attract talent, and safeguard our industry leadership.
With Beijing’s epidemic situation now under control, we will gradually resume on-site work—a move aligned with current operational needs and one we believe most colleagues will support. Considering the current circumstances, management has decided to temporarily assign colleagues to work from interim office spaces. This arrangement aims to allow everyone to focus on their work and minimize friction or confrontation with individuals intent on disrupting company order, thereby reducing unnecessary stress and burden.
Without exaggeration, although Bitmain has emerged from the Q4 liquidity crisis last year, we now face our third life-or-death moment.
This crisis is not due to poor business performance, but rather deliberate sabotage of corporate governance. Bitmain fears no challenge, but we must secure our ability to operate. This depends on every colleague rekindling the determination shown since last Q4, staying committed to doing the right thing, fulfilling your duties, and standing together through thick and thin.
Sharp swords are forged through grinding; plum blossoms gain fragrance from bitter cold. Every trial, every setback, only makes Bitmain and all our colleagues stronger and wiser. You carry the fate and future of this company. Bitmain and Bitmain Tech extend our deepest gratitude to each of you for your understanding, support, and dedication during this extraordinary time. We look forward to growing and achieving greatness together!
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