Bitfarms Delays Special Meeting as Riot Demands for Governance Improvements

Bitfarms postponed a special meeting that would see shareholders addressing Riot Platforms’ demands for an altered governance structure.

Canadian Bitcoin miner Bitfarms delays a special meeting initially scheduled for October 29 to November 6 in which Riot Platforms would push for changes in the former’s board. The Bitfarms-Riot saga has played out for months now as both parties claim their actions are geared toward protecting the interests of Bitfarms’ shareholders.

Riot holds an 18.9% stake in Bitfarms, constantly acquiring the Canadian miner’s shares to become the firm’s biggest shareholder. It currently holds 85.3 million common shares purchased through the open market. With massive influence over Bitfarms, Riot tried to stage a takeover but was unsuccessful.

With ongoing tensions, Riot sent an open letter to its counterpart earlier this month, asking it to consider options for better governance, including appointing two independent directors to its board. While two out of three of its co-founders have stepped down from their positions as this story has unfolded for some time, Riot feels it is inadequate and wants proactive changes to its board.

“We have still seen no change in posture from the Bitfarms Board regarding its willingness to work constructively with Riot to consider beneficial changes to the Bitfarms Board and/or a mutually beneficial combination that could maximize value for all Bitfarms shareholders,” Riot mentioned in the open letter. However, it urged Bitfarms to liaise with it during the special meeting to improve what it calls broken governance.

Bitfarms Agrees to Increase Its Board Size But by One

In response, Bitfarms took to X to announce that it “has rescheduled the Special Meeting of shareholders to November 6, 2024.” Still, it extended its hand to Riot to meet its demands in the middle, stating that it proposes to increase the board’s size to six members and accommodate “one mutually agreed upon Board nominee.” Bitfarms iterated that it is “acting in the best interests of ALL shareholders.”