Co-Founder Quits Avalon Mining Chip Maker Canaan Over 'Differences'

One of the three co-founders of Canaan Creative, maker of the Avalon cryptocurrency mining equipment, has stepped down from the Chinese company's leadership.

According to government business registration data updated on Jan. 30, Xiangfu Liu will no longer serve as a board member at the Hangzhou-based Canaan Creative - a role he had served since 2013.

Further, a person familiar with the situation said Liu had left his day-to-day management role at the manufacturer and his executive board member position at its holding company, Canaan Inc., which unsuccessfully sought an initial public offering in Hong Kong last year.

Canaan Creative did not respond to requests for comment.

Specifically, Canaan Creative's management wanted to continue building the company as a pure-play manufacturer of chips for crypto mining and artificial intelligence.

Unlike rival manufacturer Bitmain, Canaan does not mine crypto itself or run mining pools, and the leadership wanted to keep it that way, in order to justify the company's sustainability for an IPO, the source said.

Liu, 35, remains a substantial shareholder of Canaan Creative.

While Zhang serves as Canaan's chief executive officer, Liu was mainly in charge of the firm's overseas business strategy and marketing, and he owns about 17.6 percent of Canaan's total shares.

Canaan is far from alone in reducing staff, as other mining giants like Bitmain have also undergone layoffs as well as office closures, in part due to the overall bearish market conditions in 2018.

Canaan Creative image from CoinDesk's archives.