nChain CEO Departs Amid “Conspiracy” and “Faketoshi” Controversy

Christen Ager-Hanssen leaves nChain after the board refused to act on financial foul play uncovered at the company.

Christen Ager-Hanssen has come to the end of the road at NChain.
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  • Christen Ager-Hanssen resigns from nChain after his CEO position becomes โ€œuntenableโ€.
  • The former CEO levied serious allegations about the financial goings-on at the company.
  • Bitcoin SV surged off the back of Ager-Hanssenโ€™s departure.

Bitcoin SV (BSV) emerged in 2018 from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, itself a 2017 fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain. The stated goal of BSV was to restore the original Bitcoin protocol and design, increasing block sizes to enable greater transaction throughput capable of supporting enterprise-level scalability.

nChain is a technology firm that offers a range of blockchain-based solutions, including technical consultancy, software development, and incubation services for the BSV chain. However, the sudden resignation of nChain CEO Christen Ager-Hanssen amid accusations of shareholder fraud at the company has thrown the future of nChain’s mission into question

Serious nChain Allegations 

Rocking the Bitcoin SV world, nChain CEO Christen Ager-Hanssen abruptly announced his resignation on September 29. The shock didnโ€™t stop there, however, as Ager-Hanssen blew the whistle on an alleged “conspiracy to defraud nChain shareholders” at the hands of an unnamed โ€œsignificant shareholderโ€.ย 

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Ager-Hanssen also stated that he refused to take orders from mysterious โ€œshadow directorsโ€ and raised concerns about opaque offshore investment arrangements to the board, all of which went unheeded.

โ€œThe board didnโ€™t take action and my job becomes clearly untenable. One of the things I recommended the Chairman of the board was to sack Dr Craig Wrightโ€, remarked Ager-Hanssen.

In stating his case, the former nChain CEO reignited discussions over Craig Wrightโ€™s claim of creating the original Bitcoin protocol, stating that he has evidence that Wright fabricated documents in an attempt to deceive courts into believing he is Satoshi Nakamoto.   

Far from letting the matter go unchallenged, Bitcoin SV proponent Calvin Ayre waded in to accuse Ager-Hanssen of being a failure at business.

War of Words Erupts

Ayre wasted no time firing back, claiming the former nChain CEO “has NEVER started or run a successful companyโ€. In attempting to further discredit Ager-Hanssen, Ayre blasted the outgoing CEO for exaggerating his credentials, even accusing him of trying to steal from the company.  

Shortly after Ager-Hanssenโ€™s resignation, nChain released a statement on chair Stefan Matthews coming in as acting CEO. The statement did not make any reference to the allegations levied against the company.  

On the Flipside

  • Bitcoin SV was the biggest top 100 gainer over the last 24 hours, growing 17%. This suggests that the market viewed Ager-Hanssenโ€™s departure positively.
  • Ager-Hanssenโ€™s allegations are vague, leading to conjecture on the seriousness of his claims. 
  • Speculation that the US National Security Agency invented Bitcoin has recently resurfaced. 

Why This Matters

Ayreโ€™s ad hominem attack on Ager-Hanssen did not counter the allegations he made against the company, and with nChain also opting to gloss over the allegations, serious doubts about the companyโ€™s viability remain unanswered.

Learn more about the Independent Reserve exchange intervening over wranglings about Craig Wrightโ€™s claims here:
Australiaโ€™s Largest Exchange to Delist Bitcoin SV (BSV) Over โ€˜Bullyingโ€™ Threat to Bitcoin Developers

Find out about Bitcoinโ€™s weekend rally splitting trader sentiment here:
Bitcoin Rally Obliterates Over $40 Million Short Positions

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Samuel Wan

Samuel Wan is a reporter at DailyCoin covering market affairs. Samuel's has holdings in Bitcoin and Cardano, with other minor holdings across the market.

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