Geoffrey Morphy, the now former President and CEO of cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfarms, will be stepping down immediately after filing a lawsuit against the company in Canada.

In a May 13 notice, Bitfarms said it had terminated Morphy as CEO and president ahead of a previously announced plan to have him continue leading the company until a replacement could be found. According to the mining firm, Morphy filed a $27 million lawsuit against Bitfarms on May 10 in the Superior Court of Ontario, claiming “breach of contract, wrongful dismissal and aggravated and punitive damages.”

“The Company believes the claims are without merit and intends to defend itself vigorously,” said Bitfarms. “Nicolas Bonta, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Company, has been appointed interim President and Chief Executive Officer, and will lead the Company until the executive search is completed and [Morphy’s] successor is appointed.”

Bitfarms announced in March that it planned to seek a replacement for Morphy, who had been with the company since 2020. According to the mining firm, it will appoint a new CEO “in the next several weeks.” Cointelegraph reached out to Morphy for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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Founded in 2017, Bitfarms has 11 Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities in the United States, Canada, Paraguay and Argentina. The firm announced in April that it planned to invest roughly $240 million to upgrade its mining equipment following the BTC halving event, potentially increasing its hash rate capacity to 21 exahashes per second.

The company reported earning 269 BTC in mining rewards and transaction fees in April and is expected to announce its earnings for the first quarter of 2024 on May 15. At the time of publication, Bitfarms’ stock (BITF) on the Nasdaq was trading at $1.61, having fallen roughly 29% since March 25.

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