Riot-Bitfarms arguments end in settlement, board changes

Months after Riot’s so-called hostile takeover bid of Bitfarms, the two bitcoin miners forge an agreement

article-image

hlopex/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Bitcoin miners Bitfarms and Riot Platforms have agreed to settle governance disagreements ahead of a scheduled shareholder meeting. 

As part of the agreement, revealed by the companies Monday, Andrés Finkielsztain has stepped down from Bitfarms’ board of directors. Amy Freedman, an adviser to Ewing Morris and Co. Investment Partners whom Riot previously nominated to serve, was added to the governing body. 

Riot — the largest shareholder in Bitfarms — tried to acquire the company earlier this year, previously accusing Bitfarms leadership of “poor corporate governance practices and consistent inability to realize Bitfarms’ full potential.”

Given its growing stake in Bitfarms, which totaled 19.9% as of Sept. 3, Riot called a shareholder meeting to vote on proposed board members it nominated. Originally set for Oct. 29, the meeting date was pushed back a week.

Bitfarms later named CEO Ben Gagnon to the board, as company co-founder Nicolas Bonta stepped down — a move Riot called “reactive and insufficient.” Riot also criticized Bitfarms’ acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining. 

Read more: Bitfarms defends pending buy, calls Riot claims ‘misleading’

At the shareholder meeting planned for Nov. 6, shareholders will be asked to allow the board to be expanded from five members to six as a way to add an independent director, the companies said Monday. They will also be able to ratify a shareholder rights plan floated in July. 

Riot will vote in favor of these measures, per the latest agreement. 

Gagnon said in a statement the agreement with Riot allows the company to get its focus back to its growth strategy. 

“We remain focused on diversifying the business beyond bitcoin mining into exciting and synergistic new areas like energy generation, energy trading, heat recycling and other high value revenue streams like HPC/AI,” he added.

Riot CEO Jason Les called the deal “a significant step to advance shareholder value creation at our respective companies.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Trade isn’t war and prosperity isn’t a contest

article-image

Data shows frontrunning has declined on the network compared to last year

article-image

Industry watchers weigh in on what’s coming for bitcoin, M&A and tokenization before the year wraps

article-image

“We are open 24/7/365, but good luck getting an employee to pick up.”

article-image

BitVM3’s “garbled circuit” approach faces critical security and scaling research before it will be practical

article-image

Big blockers wasted a bitcoin fortune trying to prove a point