Hut 8 Announces Leadership Transition Amid Accusations Against Management Practices

According to CryptoPotato, Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 has announced a leadership transition roughly three weeks after an activist short-selling firm published a report containing allegations against the miner’s management practices and finances. Former CEO Jaime Leverton will be immediately succeeded by Asher Genoot, who has served as Hut 8’s president since November 2023.

Genoot co-founded Bitcoin miner U.S. Bitcoin Corp (USBTC) and served as the firm’s president before merging with Hut 8 last year. The merger deal saw Hut 8’s common stock (TSX) change to New Hut (HUT) as the new company was named Hut 8 Corp. The Hut 8 Board of Directors said the completion of the merger deal signaled the need to set a new strategic direction and a leadership transition. Board chair Bill Tai said Asher will bring a disciplined and proven approach to unlock the combined company’s potential.

Hut 8’s transition into a new leadership comes within a month after J Capital Research called HUT an “obvious pump and dump target,” as Hut 8 inherited a pile of debt from USBTC. The January 18 report alleged that USBTC may have gone bankrupt if Hut 8 had waited one month to close the merger deal. Per J Capital, USBTC is backed by promoters with a history of legal trouble. The mining company appears to have defaulted on a loan and paid government fines twice, its founders have limited share lock-ups, and insiders may soon offload their stock. However, the combined company has countered the claims, insisting that the report contains inaccuracies, misrepresented data, and false characterizations about its business.