Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Shares Slide as CEO Departs Weeks After Short-Seller Report
Former CEO Jamie Leverton is succeeded by president Asher Genoot.
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- CEO Jamie Leverton departed after three years in the job.
- Hut 8 shares slid as much as 8%.
- Short seller JCapital Research released a report Jan. 18 saying the company was a "pump and dump" waiting to happen.
The shares of bitcoin miner Hut 8 (HUT) fell as much as 8% on Wednesday, after CEO Jamie Leverton left the company just weeks after the firm was hit by a short-seller report.
The miner said Leverton, who served as CEO for three years, will be succeeded by the company's president, Asher Genoot, effective immediately. Genoot co-founded U.S. Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) and became president and director of Hut 8 in November after a merger with USBTC.
“The merger of equals of Hut 8 and US Bitcoin Corp was a transformational moment for both companies,” Hut 8 Chairman Bill Tai said in a statement. “Hut 8 is now at a pivotal inflection point, and we believe that Asher is uniquely qualified to accelerate our path to market leadership."
The move comes after short seller JCapital Research released a report on Jan. 18 saying the merger was a "pump and dump" waiting to happen. The miner fired back a week later, saying the report was "a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation about Hut 8, its operations, finances, management practices, and key executives."
Hut 8's stock has fallen more than 50% this year, while the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) – a fund that tracks miners' performance – lost about 39%, and bitcoin added about 2%.
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Aoyon Ashraf is managing editor with more than a decade of experience in covering equity markets