According to Israeli media reports, Bitmain, the maker of bitcoin miner Antminer, has closed the Bitmaintech Israel R&D center opened in Ra’anana two years ago. All 23 employees of the R&D center will be laid off, and Gadi Glikberg, vice president of Bitland, who leads the R&D center, will also leave.

Founded in 2016, the development center is dedicated to developing blockchain technology, developing the Connect BTC pool, and developing artificial intelligence for the Sophon project. In addition to his role at Bitmaintech Israel, a subsidiary of Bitmain, Glickberg is also the Vice President of Bitmain, responsible for sales and marketing.

Gadi Glikberg told Bitmain's Israeli staff: "The encryption market has undergone a restructuring in the past few months, forcing Bitmain to review its various activities around the world and refocus its business priorities based on the current situation."

Bitmain is the world's largest hardware manufacturer using ASIC technology for digital currency mining. It also manages the Antpool mining pool and the cloud-based mining platform Hashnest. The company is headquartered in China and has a development center in Amsterdam and Hong Kong in addition to its location in Ra'anana.