Fun

Founder of Bitmain Rival Held by Police Over Possible IP Dispute

News Feed - 2019-11-08 09:11:10

Zuoxing Yang, founder and CEO of Shenzhen-based bitcoin miner maker MicroBT, is being held by local police to assist an investigation, CoinDesk has learned.


The investigation is likely over allegations of intellectual property infringement by the firm related to the technology of its rival Beijing-based crypto mining giant Bitmain, according to one source close to MicroBT with knowledge of the matter. The news was first reported by Chinese crypto news source BlockBeats.


The source confirmed to CoinDesk that Yang was taken away by local police at the end of October – after the unexpected return to Bitmain of Jihan Wu, co-founder of the firm. Wu seized control of Bitmain last week by ousting the company’s other co-founder and then-chairman Micree Zhan.


Yang was formerly processor design director at Bitmain, responsible for developing the firm’s flagship AntMiner S7 and S9 models around 2016. However, he left the company and raised over $20 million to found MicroBT – which produces the WhatsMiner range of mining devices – after discussions with Zhan and Wu for stock options fell through.


Bitmain has already sued Yang and his company in 2017 over alleged infringement of a patent that Bitmain was granted for bitcoin miner-related technology. In 2018, Yang’s legal team successfully appealed to a court in China to have the patent revoked, after which the case was dismissed.


The source said that at this point it’s not clear how and why a police investigation has been opened over possible intellectual property infringement.


MicroBT has recently been posing increased competition to top miner manufacturers such as Bitmain and Canaan, having grown its market share in the bitcoin mining industry.


The firm had not responded to a CoinDesk request for comment at press time. Bitmain did not wish to comment when asked.


Yang Zuoxing image courtesy of Poolin

News Feed

Bitcoin’s Exchange Flows Indicate Changing Investor Behavior—What’s Next?
Este artículo también está disponible en español. Bitcoin’s price has recently experienced notable volatility, driven by significant market developments and investor ac
The Largest US Options Exchange Cboe Applies to List Vaneck’s Bitcoin ETF
The Largest US Options Exchange Cboe Applies to List Vaneck"s Bitcoin ETF The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) has applied to list the Vaneck Bitcoin Trust,
Dmail co-founder says email must be decentralized and protect data sovereignty
Ray Salmond10 hours agoDmail co-founder says email must be decentralized and protect data sovereigntyDmail co-founder Daniel James explains why email needs to be decentralized.1716 Total views1 Total sharesListen to arti
Central Bank of China Calls for Increasing Use of Digital Yuan
Central Bank of China Calls for Increasing Use of Digital Yuan The People’s Bank of China has urged for widening of the array of use-case scenarios for its central bank digi
Key Fractal From 2023 Says Bitcoin Price Is Still Bullish, But A Crash To $90,000 Could Be Coming
Reason to trust Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed The highest standards in reporting and pu
Ana Paula Pereira6 hours agoWhat is going on with Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense?Former FTX CEO Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried has been on trial since Oct. 3, but his legal counsel has yet to present a compelling narra
Ethereum price recovery from 8-month low could take longer than expected — Analysts
Nancy Lubale4 hours agoEthereum price recovery from 8-month low could take longer than expected — AnalystsSeveral factors accelerated ETH’s drop to $2,100, and analysts warn that the recovery could take some time.156
Marcel Pechman5 hours agoPolygon (MATIC) rally comes to an end as competitors devour market shareMATIC price has retraced a majority of its recent gains. Cointelegraph explores why.2883 Total views18 Total sharesListen t
SEC pushes back decision to open up options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs
Jesse Coghlan3 hours agoSEC pushes back decision to open up options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFsThe SEC will again decide on whether to greenlight derivatives trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs on April 24.2615 Total views8 To
Retail Giant H&M Debunks Rumor of Store Opening in Metaverse, Collaboration With Ceek
Retail Giant H&M Debunks Rumor of Store Opening in Metaverse, Collaboration With Ceek Major fashion company H&M has denied the rumor that it is opening a store in the metaverse. Ac
While Miners Deal With Low BTC Prices, Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Target Expected to Increase 3% Higher
While Miners Deal With Low BTC Prices, Bitcoin"s Mining Difficulty Target Expected to Increase 3% Higher Bitcoin’s mining difficulty target is expected to increase on Dec. 1
Citi Predicts Metaverse Could Be $13 Trillion Opportunity With 5 Billion Users
Citi Predicts Metaverse Could Be $13 Trillion Opportunity With 5 Billion Users Citi has predicted that the total market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion