Bitfarms appointed Ben Gagnon chief executive on July 8, 2024, effective immediately, after the board elevated him from chief mining officer1. Nicolas Bonta, then chairman, announced the move. “Ben is a seasoned leader with significant experience in Bitcoin mining, and we are thrilled to appoint someone of his caliber as the Company's next CEO,” Bonta said.
The second CEO appointment at Bitfarms on the record since 2022
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Bitfarms, by year
- 2024: 5
- 2022, 2023, 2025, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 |
26 CEO appointments on the record in 2024
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2024: 26
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 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 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 35 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Bitfarms tied Gagnon's promotion to his five years inside the company. Gagnon started as director of business development in 2019. He moved up to director of mining operations the next year, then to chief mining officer in 2021, the July 8 filing said1. Edie Hofmeister, who chaired the board's search committee, framed the choice as continuity. “During his tenure as Chief Mining Officer, Ben played a significant role in the development of Bitfarms' growth plan, positioning the Company to drive significant value creation,” Hofmeister said. Gagnon's own statement pointed past Bitcoin mining toward the 2028 halving and what he called HPC and AI opportunities.
Bitcoin.com News reported the appointment on July 8, 2024, too, with context Bitfarms' own release left out. “Riot Platforms is attempting to acquire Bitfarms, aiming to merge and create the largest publicly listed bitcoin miner,” the outlet wrote. Bitcoin.com News called the bid a "hostile takeover attempt" and said it had already pushed Bitfarms toward a poison-pill defense2.
Bitfarms before and after
Before the change, Bitfarms ran 12 data centers across four countries with Bonta as chairman. A special committee was weighing a possible sale. That process ran apart from the CEO choice, the company said1. Gagnon's highest title at Bitfarms before this appointment was chief mining officer. The filing noted he had earlier run two Bitcoin mining companies of his own, holding chief executive, chief mining officer and chief technology officer roles at each. After the appointment, Gagnon held the operating and strategic authority the release described. He reported to a board still fending off Riot's board-replacement push2.
What came next
The Riot dispute that framed Gagnon's appointment ended in a settlement. Bitfarms filed it with securities regulators on September 23, 2024, BetaKit reported3. Under its terms, director Andrés Finkielsztain stepped down from the Bitfarms board. Riot withdrew its request to replace the board, and it agreed to a standstill on challenging Bitfarms' control until the 2026 annual meeting. Gagnon spoke as the sitting chief executive once the settlement landed. “We are pleased to reach this agreement with Riot and look forward to turning our full attention to executing our growth strategy,” he said, naming energy generation, energy trading and heat recycling as the areas Bitfarms would pursue beyond Bitcoin mining. Riot chief executive Jason Les struck a similar tone. The settlement would let Riot keep "supporting a reconstituted Bitfarms board and continued engagement with management," he said. That left Gagnon running the company Riot had tried to take over.
Sources
- Bitfarms Ltd., "Bitfarms Appoints Ben Gagnon as Chief Executive Officer," Bitfarms Ltd. (SEC filing), Jul. 8, 2024, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1812477/000121390024059806/ea020909301ex99-1_bitfarms.htm
- Bitcoin.com News, "Bitfarms Leadership Change: Ben Gagnon Named CEO," Bitcoin.com News, Jul. 8, 2024, https://news.bitcoin.com/bitfarms-leadership-change-ben-gagnon-named-ceo/
- Isabelle Kirkwood, "Months-long dispute between Bitfarms and Riot Platforms draws to a close as companies reach settlement," BetaKit, Sep. 23, 2024, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwAFBVV95cUxQbHF3bmZ5WTdxc3NPdUJFbURHWVlpS2MxLWpEQVBtUG4wUmk3OHhWQ055a1FHOUNoOGJ4MzRucmNNZ3A4cGxIemtncFNubUlPS19GeGlYZkw3RmN0SU0yN2lIcGgxb1BwSll2WlRucEl3R3V6NnZBMGxFSk1LZEhQdjEyYXJtN0FzazI4TG9WZ1M1cHRqeVpROTNUODN6UmgxdmlycWQ2R0x3WmNvWEVma3o1QjA0VTZwcTBLZ3FFbjk?oc=5