Could These Salary Pauses, C-Level Exits Destabilize The Already Shaken Crypto Industry

Among the many regulatory hurdles the cryptocurrency industry is facing, C-suite level shakeups and pausing employees' salary payments can have an impact on its pulse.

Bitmain Holds Back Salary Payments: Bitcoin application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) manufacturer Bitmain, based in China, apparently held back salary payments for September and for the foreseeable future.

Local news reports, as reported by CoinTelegraph, cited multiple Bitmain employees close to the matter who said the company cut all bonuses and incentives for its staff. Employees also faced a 50% cut to their base salary. An internal notice regarding salary payments was issued on Oct.3.

However, a Wu Blockchain post on X said this:

On the afternoon of October 7, Bitmain has repaid September wages, and stated that it only did not pay the performance salary of some people. It has also been repaid, and the basic salary has been released normally on September 30.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 8, 2023

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The company, founded in 2013 and one of the largest Bitcoin mining ASIC manufacturers, arrived at this moment amid the failure to achieve a net positive cash flow mainly in the orders of new ASICs. Currently, its Antminer ASIC series tops the industry in terms of hash rate computations for mining Bitcoin.

Among recent orders, Bitcoin miner Hive announced the purchase of 2,000 Bitmain S19 XP ASIC miners for immediate deployment in its rigs. The miners have a listed price of $4,653 on Bitmain.

Read Now: Core Scientific's Bitmain Miner Purchase: A Bitcoin Mining Juggernaut Emerges

Ripple CFO Waves Goodbye: Ripple XRP/USD CFO Kristina Campbell announced her exit from the company to join a similar position at the virtual healthcare provider, Maven Clinic. The employment came to an end in October after serving for more than two years. The company has already commenced a search to fill the position.

The news came after Ripple’s legal battle (initiated in December 2020) with the U.S. SEC mainly for its sales of the XRP token. A federal judge in July ruled XRP was not a security when sold to retail investors. The ruling was upheld in October after an SEC appeal. The trial with the SEC is slated to commence in April 2024. It remains unclear if Campbell's exit is linked to any regulatory scrutiny Ripple is facing.

Amid similar moves, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder resigned from the exchange in mid-September after the SEC charged the company with securities law violations.

Read Next: Crypto Market Moving Steadily, With Bitcoin Showing Resilience, Says BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz

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