Emiliano Grodzki, CEO of leading Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms, has resigned, joining a long list of crypto executives who have resigned this year amid the bear market.
Geoffrey Morphy, the mining company’s new CEO, was promoted from his position as president and chief operating officer (COO).
“Our foundational work over the last years built the strength and depth of skills we needed to navigate external factors. “I’m even more optimistic about Bitfarms’ long-term prospects today than I was when I joined the company in 2020,” Morphy said.
In 2017, Grodzki and his partner Nicolas Bonta co-founded Bitfarms in Canada. Although Grodzki will no longer serve as CEO, he will remain on the board of directors.
Bonta will also serve as the company’s new Chairman of the Board of Directors, taking over from Executive Chairman.
Bonta noted that Morphy had played a significant role in developing the firm’s management team, corporate structure, governance and control, investor relations, and operations and strategy since joining Bitfarm two years ago.
“In a little over two years, Geoff helped transform Bitfarms from a purely Canadian company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange with five farms in Quebec to an international powerhouse traded on both the Nasdaq and TSX with ten operating farms in four countries driving over 4.4 exahash/second (EH/s) today. “I am pleased to announce Geoff as Bitfarms’ new CEO, and I am confident that his expanded leadership will lead to continued success for Bitfarms in the coming years,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bitfarms’ leadership change comes at a time when many executives are stepping down due to an intensifying bear market that has forced several top crypto firms, including miners, into financial difficulties and even bankruptcy.
Core Scientific, the largest Bitcoin mining company, declared insolvency last week, despite receiving a $72 million loan offer from one of its creditors to avoid bankruptcy.
Compute North, a crypto mining infrastructure firm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in September, owing at least $500 million to at least 200 creditors.
Bitfarms has also experienced financial difficulties this year. To improve liquidity, the miner sold nearly half of its bitcoin stash in June. Last month, the company repaid $27 million in debt to strengthen its balance sheet.
