Jihan Wu, the former CEO of Bitmain, the Bitcoin mining manufacturer, has absconded from social media leaving the cryptocurrency community worried, especially the co-owner of Bitcoin.org and Bitcointalk.org, known by his pseudonym Cobra.
Trouble began brewing back in November when the Bitcoin Cash community was split between Jihan Wu and Roger Ver’s Bitcoin Cash ABC and Craig Wright’s Bitcoin Cash SV. The two factions had a heated dispute, following which the coin hardforked into two new cryptocurrencies, which both currently occupy spots in the top-10 list.
Market forces dipped the prices of cryptos to a yearly low following this split. Bitmain also demoted Jihan Wu from director to supervisor in November and in the following months, rumors regarding the resignation of the co-founders Jihan Wu and Ketuan Zhan began to float.
Both Jihan Wu and Ketuan Zhan have been under fire since the close of last year. Wu was lambasted by not just Bitmain but the cryptocurrency community for backing Bitcoin Cash, which has been on a bearish spree since the hardfork, with Zhan criticized for his poor diversification decisions.
While both Jihan Wu and Ketuan Zhan will still remain a part of the company as stakeholders, Wu will be ousted as Bitmain’s CEO with an appointment imminent. However, since the news of this replacement surfaced, Jihan Wu has retreated from social media, leaving many worried.
Cobra, the co-owner of bitcoin.org and friend of Jihan Wu, voiced his concern about Wu’s “sudden disappearance”, stating:
“Jihan has disappeared off Twitter. I’m the last person he replied too on here before his sudden disappearance. Very worried about him. I can’t even imagine the stress he’s going through right now. As one human being to another, I hope you’re OK bro.”
Some Twitter users are even dwelling on the borders of lewd theories regarding the former Bitmain CEO’s disappearance, with one user stating:
“I could be completely wrong, but my admittedly low-info Westerner understanding of Chinese business culture is, if your large venture fails, there are serious, dangerous personal consequences.”
Bitmain has not been doing very well since the “crypto-winter” set in. The company’s research and development department based in Israel were cut by 50 percent. They downsized their Bitcoin Cash development team.
Furthermore, back in December 2018, Bitmain was served with a lawsuit by United American Corp., on the grounds of hardfork manipulation during the BCH split. Also, in late-November, 2018, miners filed a lawsuit against Bitmain, claiming that the company’s device mined the cryptocurrencies for the benefit on Bitmain rather than the current user.