CEO of Bitfarms Steps Down amid a Prolonged Crypto Winter
- The CEO of Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms, Emiliano Grodzki, has officially resigned during the bear market.
- The current president and chief operating officer (COO) of the company, Geoffrey Morphy, will be the new CEO.
- Grodzki will continue to work for the company as a director on the Board of Directors.
- Co-founder Nicolas Bonta will serve as the company’s new Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Emiliano Grodzki has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the renowned Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms, joining a growing list of cryptocurrency executives who have stepped down from their positions this year due to the prolonged bear market.
Geoffrey Morphy, who joined the firm back in 2020 and currently serves as the president and chief operating officer (COO), would succeed Grodzki.
Commenting on his promotion, Morphy stated:
“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 today about Bitfarms’ long-term prospects than when I joined the company back in 2020.”
In 2017, Grodzki along with his partner Nicolas Bonta, founded Bitfarms in Canada. Though he has resigned from his role as CEO, Grodzki will continue to work for the company as a Director on the Board.
On the other hand, Bonta will serve as the company’s new Chairman of the Board of Directors, moving from his current role of Executive Chairman.
Commenting on Morphy’s departure from his current role, Bonta highlighted his contribution to the firm’s success ranging from Bitfarms’ corporate structure, governance and control, operations and strategy, and investor relations.
“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,” he said.
Troubled crypto mining firms
The leadership transition at Bitfarms comes at a time when many executives in different crypto companies are leaving their positions as a result of the worsening bear market that has driven numerous big crypto firms, including miners, into financial difficulties and even insolvency and bankruptcy.
Despite getting a $72 million loan offer from one of its creditors to stay out of bankruptcy, Bitfarms’ major competitor, Core Scientific, last week declared insolvency and became the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency firm to do so.
Bitfarms has also experienced its share of financial difficulties in 2022. To increase its liquidity, the miner sold over half of its bitcoin stash in June. In November, the company paid off $27 million of its debt, which improved its balance sheet.
Notably, in September, once-leading crypto mining infrastructure Compute North filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, owing over $500 million to at least 200 creditors.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
