According to recent rumors on a social media platform, Bitmain, the cryptocurrency mining giant based in Beijing is set to fire more than 50% of its staff and has already given one weeks notice to it’s entire Copernicus team.
The team was in charge of development of BCH client database. Unfortunately, the dismissal happened right before Christmas Eve. Per the post, Bitmain may begin a layoff in the coming week.
The revelations were made in a tweet from Blockstream Cheif Strategy Officer Samson who was also a former BTCC Chief Operational Officer.
The news comes ahead of the planned Bitmain initial public offering (IPO) which has been scheduled for Q1 of 2019, but many now question whether it will go ahead.
Regulators in Hong Kong, where the IPO is planned to launch, have recently criticized the cryptocurrency market, calling it “immature”. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Market (HKEX) is allegedly reluctant to approve the IPO, citing a lack of clear regulations regarding cryptocurrencies.
Sources claim that up to 50% of its staffers could be purged. And considering that Bitmain purportedly has upwards of 2,000 employees, this business decision would undoubtedly be devastating on the crypto ecosystem as a whole.
