Bitfarms appoints Ben Gagnon as CEO following takeover fiasco

Bitcoin mining giant Bitfarms has appointed Ben Gagnon, who previously was chief mining officer, as the company’s new chief executive.

Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Bitfarms announced in a Monday press release that it has appointed Ben Gagnon as its new chief executive amid a takeover battle with U.S. rival, Riot Platforms.

In the press release, Bitfarms’ Chairman of the Board of Directors Nicolas Bonta said that Gagnon will work towards expanding and diversifying the business into new areas, such as “energy generation, heat recycling, energy trading and HPC (high performance computing) for AI (artificial intelligence).”

“During his tenure as chief mining officer, Ben played a significant role in the development of Bitfarms’ growth plan, positioning the company to drive significant value creation,” said Edie Hofmeister, Chair of the Independent Search Committee of the Board of Directors at Bitfarms.

Amid the new appointment, Riot Platforms, the U.S.-based Bitcoin company that had sought Bitfarms’ acquisition, announced in a press release a new website dubbed “ABetterBitfarms” to allow shareholders to learn more about “Bitfarms’ broken corporate governance, the need for urgent board change and Riot’s three highly qualified, independent director nominees.”

Riot Platforms has been trying to acquire its Canadian rival for some time, after offering the Toronto-headquartered company $950 million for acquisition. However, the Colorado-headquartered company later withdrew its acquisition proposal, stating that “engaging with the incumbent Bitfarms board on a potential combination is just not possible.”