Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC), a bitcoin treasury company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE),'s largest stock exchange, has been left with two directors after four board members resigned amid a dispute with majority shareholders over board appointments.

The departing directors include interim chief executive Stafford Masie, board chair Norma Sephuma, and independent directors Snowy Masakale and GG Alcock. Their resignations followed demands from WGW Capital and other shareholders, who together hold approximately 71.8% of the company's ordinary shares, to remove the four directors from the board. A combined holding of that size is a decisive majority of ordinary shares, the kind of position that typically determines the outcome of shareholder votes over board composition.

Masie will remain interim CEO until his planned departure on February 28, 2027. The remaining board consists of independent non-executive director Robin Coode and financial director Jonathan Phillips — a two-member bench that falls short of the board sizes and independence standards exchanges typically require of listed companies.

ABC said it is working with advisers to restore the board's composition in line with statutory, regulatory, and listing requirements. The JSE's listing framework sets minimum governance standards for listed boards, including requirements around composition and independence, which makes the rebuild a compliance matter as much as a governance one. The company's executive management team remains in place and will continue overseeing day-to-day operations, it added.

The boardroom dispute follows regulatory action by South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), which fined former CEO Warren Wheatley and debarred him for 20 years over findings of share-price manipulation. The FSCA serves as South Africa's market conduct regulator for the country's financial sector, and a debarment order of that length effectively excludes its subject from senior roles and licensed activity in the industry for two decades.

Wheatley has disputed the findings, saying the transactions involved testing a faulty trading platform rather than an attempt to manipulate the share price. He subsequently resigned as CEO, while former Chief Investment Officer Akshay Karan and Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley also left their respective roles following the regulatory sanctions.

A separate shareholder demand to appoint two additional non-executive directors remains in place. According to the company, the proposed appointments are intended to strengthen its legal, regulatory, and investment expertise following the departures of senior executives. The interplay between that pending demand and the newly vacated seats frames the next stage of the standoff.

ABC was previously known as Altvest before rebranding to Africa Bitcoin Corporation in September 2025, becoming the first publicly listed firm in Africa to add bitcoin to its treasury reserve. Bitcoin treasury companies hold bitcoin on their balance sheets as a reserve asset, an approach that has gained traction among listed firms globally in recent years. With the company's investment proposition built around holding bitcoin in reserve, board stability is a core part of its obligations as a listed issuer.

The developments leave ABC working to stabilize its governance structure while its executive team continues to run day-to-day operations. Near-term markers include the adviser-led board restoration, the outcome of the shareholder demand for two additional non-executive directors, and the sequencing of leadership changes ahead of the interim CEO's planned 2027 exit.