Erke Huang
Bit DigitalAbout Erke Huang
Erke Huang is Chief Financial Officer and a Director at Bit Digital (BTBT), serving as CFO since October 2019 and briefly as Interim CEO from February–March 2021 . He is 37 years old, with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering (Southwest Jiaotong University, 2011) and an M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering (Carnegie Mellon University, 2012) . Company pay-versus-performance disclosures show 2024 net income of $28.3M and a reported TSR metric indicating a negative value for a $100 initial investment, while 2023 net loss was $13.9M . In July 2025, Huang transitioned Principal Financial Officer duties to the newly appointed CAO/PFO while retaining the CFO title, to focus on the anticipated WhiteFiber subsidiary IPO .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit Digital, Inc. | Interim Chief Executive Officer | Feb 2021–Mar 2021 | Management continuity during leadership transition |
| Long Soar Technology Limited | Co-Founder and Advisor | Aug 2019–Oct 2020 | Early-stage tech advisory role |
| Bitotem Investment Management Limited | Founder/CEO | From May 2018 | Investment management leadership |
| Guojin Capital | Investment Manager | Jun 2016–May 2018 | Buy-side investment responsibilities |
| Zhengshi Capital | Analyst | Aug 2015–May 2016 | Research/analysis role |
| Southwest Jiaotong University | Program Officer | Feb 2015–Aug 2015 | Administrative/program role |
| Crown Castle International | Engineering Analyst Team Leader | Mar 2013–Nov 2014 | Led engineering analytics team |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhiteFiber, Inc. (BTBT subsidiary) | Intended CFO (post-IPO) | Announced Jul 2025 | Transition of PFO duties; retains BTBT CFO |
| Geney Development Limited | President; 30% beneficial owner | Ongoing | Holds 1,000,000 Preference Shares; 8% dividends when declared |
| Long Soar Technology Limited | Co-Founder/Advisor | Aug 2019–Oct 2020 | Prior experience |
| Bitotem Investment Management Limited | Founder/CEO | From May 2018 | Prior experience |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary (USD) | $64,000 | $499,459 | $597,963 |
| Cash Bonus (USD) | $0 | $200,000 | $1,100,000 |
| Employment Agreement Base Salary | $60,000 per annum (Oct 28, 2022 agreement) | Increased to $600,000 effective Mar 10, 2023 | $600,000 per annum (agreement) |
Notes:
- Agreement term two years, auto-renews annually unless terminated .
- Bonus eligibility at Board discretion .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Grant Detail | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | Vesting/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (count) | Awarded under 2021 Second Plan and 2023 Plan | — | 750,000 RSUs | 1,045,000 RSUs | Outstanding equity awards table shows no unvested awards at FY2024 year-end |
| Share-Based Comp (Grant-date, ASC 718, USD) | Aggregate grant-date fair value | — | $2,837,000 | $3,523,650 | |
| Vested/Issued RSU Fair Value (USD) | Based on closing price on vesting date | — | $2,387,000 | $3,523,650 | |
| Options | — | — | — | — | No options outstanding (exercisable/unexercisable) |
Additional context:
- The company disclosed that, as a smaller reporting company, it did not use defined “financial performance measures” under Item 402(v) to link compensation in the pay-versus-performance table .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | As of Apr 3, 2025 | As of Jul 18, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned | 2,095,000 | 2,350,000 |
| Preference Shares Beneficially Owned via Geney (one-for-one convertible; 50 votes per share) | 300,000 | 300,000 |
| Voting Power % | 7.2% of voting securities (including Preference Shares) | 5.4% (combined Ordinary + Preference votes) |
| Anti-hedging / Anti-pledging policy | Policy prohibits hedging; company policy titled Anti-Hedging and Anti-Pledging | |
| 10b5-1 trading plans | None for officers/directors disclosed | |
| Pledging of shares | No pledging disclosed for Huang | |
| Ownership guidelines | Not disclosed in proxy |
Preference Shares context:
- Geney Development Ltd. holds 1,000,000 Preference Shares; 8% annual dividends when declared; Huang is President and 30% beneficial owner; Deng holds 70% .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start date as CFO | October 18, 2019 |
| Agreement term | Two years; auto-renews annually unless terminated |
| Base salary | Increased to $600,000 commencing Mar 10, 2023 |
| Bonus eligibility | Determined by the Board |
| Equity eligibility | Eligible to participate in company equity incentive plans |
| Non-compete (employment) | 1 year post-termination |
| Non-solicit (employment) | 1 year post-termination |
| Director service agreement | $1,000 per quarter; non-compete 1 year; non-solicit 3 years |
| Severance; Change-of-control | No severance or change-of-control provisions disclosed for Huang’s agreement ; plan-level change-in-control treatment for awards described |
| Clawback policy | Adopted Nov 23, 2023 (restatement-triggered recovery) |
| Insider lock-up | Listed party to lock-up tied to offering execution timeline |
Board Governance
- Role: Director; signed multiple company proxies and certificates in 2025 .
- Committee memberships: None (committees composed of independent directors Deng, Shih, Pierce) .
- Board independence: Board determined Deng, Shih, Pierce are independent; Huang is executive director (not independent) .
- Board meeting attendance: Board met eight times in FY2024; all directors attended at least 75% .
- Governance notes: Secretary contact for shareholder communications is Erke Huang .
Director Compensation
| Item | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainer (director fees) | $4,000 |
| Equity awards (director grants) | $0 for Huang |
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Compensation Committee: Deng (Chair), Shih, Pierce; oversees executive and director pay, plans, agreements, and consultants .
- Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: Deng (Chair), Shih, Pierce .
- Audit Committee: Shih (Chair and financial expert), Pierce, Deng; independent under Rule 10A-3 .
- Equity plans: 2021, 2021 Second, 2023, and proposed 2025 Omnibus Plan (up to 8,000,000 shares) for RSUs/options and other awards; no option repricing without shareholder approval .
Related Party Transactions and Dual-Role Implications
- Geney Exchange Agreement (May 26, 2021): Geney (70% Deng; 30% Huang) exchanged 1,000,000 Ordinary Shares for 1,000,000 Preference Shares, with 50 votes per Preference Share, 8% dividends when declared, $10 liquidation preference per share, one-for-one conversion subject to 4.99% blocker . Dividends of $800,000 were paid for FY2022, FY2023, and FY2024 .
- Dual roles: Huang is BTBT CFO, director, and President/30% beneficial owner of Geney; this creates governance sensitivity due to multi-vote preference shares and dividend stream controlled via related-party entity .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- 2025 Annual Meeting agenda included non-binding “Say on Pay” and frequency vote; Board recommended “For” and a three-year say-on-pay frequency .
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income (Loss) (USD) | $(105,296,603) | $(13,893,281) | $28,305,810 |
| Value of $100 Investment (TSR metric per proxy) | $(90.13) | $(30.43) | $(51.81) |
Context:
- Company states it did not use “financial performance measures” under Item 402(v) to link compensation in the pay-versus-performance table .
Equity Ownership & Alignment Detail
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership | 2,095,000 Ordinary Shares as of Apr 3, 2025; 2,350,000 Ordinary Shares as of Jul 18, 2025 |
| Preference shares | Beneficial interest in 300,000 Preference Shares via Geney; 50 votes per share |
| Voting power | 7.2% (Apr 3, 2025); 5.4% (Jul 18, 2025) of voting securities |
| Hedging/pledging | Hedging prohibited; policy titled anti-hedging and anti-pledging |
| 10b5-1 plans | No officer/director plans disclosed |
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Related-party preference shares: Multi-vote rights, dividends to Geney (Huang 30% beneficial owner), liquidation preference; potential misalignment with common shareholders in capital structure decisions .
- Dual-role concentration: CFO + Director + related-party principal increases governance complexity; Board independence maintained at committee level .
- Insider selling pressure: No 10b5-1 plans; lock-up agreement parties listed (including Huang) for equity offering timeline, potentially moderating near-term selling .
- Clawback policy in place (Nov 2023) reduces misconduct risk; no restatements to date .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance: Huang’s compensation is heavily equity-linked via RSUs; 2024 saw significant cash bonus and RSU grant amid profitability improvement, although proxy TSR measure remained negative; outstanding awards show no unvested RSUs at FY2024 year-end, reducing near-term vesting-driven sell pressure .
- Governance/related party: Preference share structure and Geney dividends centralize voting power and economic benefits with insiders; monitor capital actions (authorizations/issuances) and dividend decisions for minority shareholder impact .
- Retention and succession: Huang retains CFO title while delegating PFO duties; planned move to WhiteFiber CFO role post-IPO suggests expanded scope but continued BTBT involvement; non-compete/non-solicit covenants reduce attrition risk .
- Trading signals: Absence of 10b5-1 plans and participation in lock-up may lessen near-term insider selling; watch subsequent equity plan approvals (2025 Omnibus Plan) and any new RSU grants for dilution and incentive alignment .
