Argo Blockchain announced on January 21, 2025, that chief executive Thomas Chippas would step down from his roles as CEO and director effective February 28, 20251. The company named chief financial officer Jim MacCallum interim chief executive while it searched for a permanent successor. Chippas had held the top job since November 2023, about 14 months3.
The second CEO exit at Argo Blockchain on the record since 2023
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Argo Blockchain, by year
- 2025: 3
- 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 |
20 CEO exits on the record in 2025
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 20
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Argo's filing named the departure. It omitted the cause. Matthew Shaw, chairman of the board, credited him in the release: “Thomas has made significant contributions to Argo including the repayment of the Galaxy loan ahead of schedule and improving the balance sheet. On behalf of the Board and everyone at Argo, I would like to thank Thomas for his many achievements and wish him every success in the future”1.
TheEnergyMag reported on January 21, 2025 that Argo left the reasons unexplained3. The outlet tied the timing to a different problem. Argo's colocation host, Galaxy Digital, had ended their hosting contract on December 28, 2024. That forced Argo to scramble for new sites to house more than 23,000 of its mining units. At the Bitcoin hashprice levels of the time, the outlet wrote, “any hosting fee higher than this threshold would result in Argo's miners operating at a gross loss”.
Argo before and after
Chippas had founded ErisX before he joined Argo3. ErisX traded crypto spot and derivatives. The Chicago Board Options Exchange bought it in October 2021. While he ran Argo, the firm repaid a loan from Galaxy Digital ahead of schedule, the point Shaw singled out in the resignation announcement1. Finance Magnates later called the same period "a challenging two-year period for the cryptocurrency industry," crediting Chippas with keeping Argo afloat even as it stayed unprofitable4.
What came next
Argo named Justin Nolan chief executive effective March 22, 2025, bringing back a former chief growth officer at the company2. Finance Magnates reported that Argo's most recent quarterly filing before the appointment showed a $6.3 million net loss4. Mining margins in that quarter had shrunk from 58 percent to 8 percent.
Sources
- Argo Blockchain plc, "Argo CEO Change," SEC Form 6-K, Jan. 21, 2025, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841675/000165495425000583/a0300u.htm
- Argo Blockchain plc, "Appointment of Chief Executive Officer and PDMR Notification," SEC Form 6-K, March 24, 2025, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841675/000165495425003189/a8352b.htm
- Wolfie Zhao, "Bitcoin Miner Argo's CEO Thomas Chippas Steps Down," TheEnergyMag, Jan. 21, 2025, https://theminermag.com/news/2025-01-21/bitcoin-miner-argo-ceo-step-down
- Damian Chmiel, "Former Wall Street Bitcoin Miner Exec Returns After 2 Years as CEO, Faces $6.3M Financial Gap to Fill," Finance Magnates, March 24, 2025, https://www.financemagnates.com/executives/moves/former-wall-street-bitcoin-miner-exec-returns-after-2-years-as-ceo-faces-63m-financial-gap-to-fill/