<p>Micree Zhan, co-founder of cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain, was abruptly ousted from the company last week. Zhan now says that he is going to take legal action to return to the firm.</p> <p>In an <a href="https://twitter.com/excellion/status/1192261566437023744?s=21">open letter</a> posted on his WeChat account on Thursday, Zhan said that he was removed from the company without his consent while he was on a “business trip.”</p> <p>“I have never thought that as a person focusing on technology and product, I have to start thinking from legal perspectives. It was embarrassing that as a Bitmain co-founder, the biggest shareholder, and a registered legal representative, I got ousted without any knowledge in this coup while on a business trip,” Zhan said, adding:</p> <p>“I didn’t realize until then that those scenes in TV shows, where you get stabbed on your back by those partners you trusted and ‘brothers’ you fought together with, can really happen in real life.”</p> <p>Zhan assured Bitmain staff and shareholders that he will “return to the company as soon as possible through legal methods” to achieve business goals.<br /> <br /> “We want to achieve the goal of 90% market share of bitcoin miner manufacturing market! Our AI [artificial intelligence] business can achieve a qualitative breakthrough of about 100 million yuan [~$14.25 million] in revenue in 2019, and can expect 1 billion yuan [~$143 million] in 2020," Zhan added. </p> <p>Last week, Jihan Wu, another co-founder of Bitmain, <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/44989/bitmain-co-founder-and-executive-director-micree-zhan-is-out-abruptly">sent</a> an email to Bitmain staff, saying that Zhan is out and that he has taken over Zhan’s responsibilities. “Any Bitmain staff shall no longer take any direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan. Bitmain may, based on the situation, consider terminating employment contracts of those who violate this note,” Wu said at the time.</p>