A Chinese chip designer who helped Bitmain Technologies (比特大陸) become the world’s largest maker of bitcoin mining rigs before starting his own company has been arrested, three people familiar with the matter said.
Yang Zuoxing (楊作興), who had worked for Bitmain until June 2016, was detained by police in Shenzhen at the end of October in relation to a legal dispute with his former employer, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing legal matters.
Prosecutors in Shenzhen, China, on Thursday last week said in a statement that Yang had been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and that legal procedures were ongoing.
The statement omitted the second of three Chinese characters that make up Yang’s full name, likely to shield his identity.
It did not mention Bitmain or MicroBT (比特微), the cryptomining company Yang founded a month after quitting Bitmain.
MicroBT has grown into a serious contender, clawing market share away from Bitmain with its Whatsminer equipment.
While cryptominer makers produce machines with similar specifications and prices, they compete against each other for tight chip supplies from foundries operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co.
The arrest of Yang comes as competition between Bitmain and its rivals intensifies.
While MicroBT’s flagship Whatsminer 20 series are the best-selling bitcoin mining rigs so far this year, Yang’s absence has halted his company’s ability to make key decisions, including on pricing, two of the people said.
Representatives of MicroBT and Bitmain declined to comment. The prosecutors’ office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Bitmain has waged several legal battles against prominent former exployees.
The Beijing-based company last year lost a court ruling against MicroBT over allegations that Yang’s start-up infringed its patent rights.
Earlier this year, Bitmain filed a lawsuit against three former employees who started rival mining pool Poolin (幣印礦池) for allegedly contravening a non-competition agreement.
An internal power struggle within Bitmain has seen billionaire Wu Jihan (吳忌寒) kick cofounder Micree Zhan (詹克團) out of the company and it has been trying to tout new sales initiatives to lure customers.
Yang previously told Bloomberg News that he helped Bitmain design its highly sought-after machines, but he left the company after Wu and Zhan turned down his request for a stake in the business.
Yang, the majority shareholder of MicroBT, graduated from Beijing’s Tsinghua University with a doctorate in mechatronics before entering the chip-design industry.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known