African Bitcoin Company (ABC) has announced that industry veteran, well-known tech entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate Stafford Masie has resigned as chairman of the company.
ABC, which turned profitable in August for the first time since listing as Altvest Capital in October 2024, invests in Bitcoin on behalf of the general public. It is the first publicly-listed entity in Africa to hold the virtual currency on its balance sheet.
The company did not provide reasons for Masie’s departure in its shareholder announcement.
During a career spanning more than 30 years, Masie’s CV starts in the mid-1990s as a software engineer and network analyst at Telkom, before moving to Dimension Data as a national software strategist and later to Novell. He spent more than seven years in the US with Novell before returning to South Africa to lead its local operations.
In 2006, he was appointed to establish Google’s presence in South Africa, leading the rollout of products including Google Search, Maps, Street View and YouTube. He left the company around 2010.
Personal woes
It was three years too many for his family and his personal life “hit the wall,” Masie says on his website. He was forced to leave Google SA to spend time with his crumbling family, he explains.
“I left Google reluctantly, I left Google negatively, I left Google unwillingly, I was hoping to salvage a marriage and spend time with my children again,” says Masie.
Unfortunately, his strained marriage ended. “I got lost over all the years of giving so much to my career. I lost family and a marriage,” the website says, quoting Masie.
After Google, Masie moved into entrepreneurship, founding fintech firm Thumbzup in 2010, where he developed mobile payment technologies including the Payment Pebble. “Masie, the husband, lost, but Masie, the entrepreneur, was determined to win,” the site says.
Masie later established artificial intelligence firm SauronAI, with a focus on retail applications, and has since been involved in a number of ventures, including Bitcoin-focused mining firm BitMach and education platform SnapTutor.
Other roles Masie has filled include serving as an independent non-executive director at Advtech – Africa’s largest JSE-listed private education provider – for more than seven years. He also sat on the board of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for over four years.
As a technology investor and advisor, Masie lectures for executive Master of Business Administration programmes at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Henley Business School, as well as the University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand business schools.
ABC also notes that Robin Coode has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the company, chair of the group’s audit and risk committee, and member of the group’s nomination and remuneration committee.
Coode is a chartered accountant with over 30 years’ experience in finance, investment and retirement fund governance. He spent much of his career at Telkom, where he held senior roles, including group treasurer, financial controller and chief investment officer.
Norma Sephuma, the lead independent director, has been appointed as chairman of the board. She has spent time at the Bank of Botswana and with the African Development Bank and Southern African Development Community.
CEO Warren Wheatley stepped down as a member of the group’s social and ethics committee.
Making money
ABC recently revealed that it is currently managing investments in the crypto-currency worth R502 million, putting it below its larger traditional-based peers, such as Coronation Fund Managers, all of which have assets under management of billions.
However, this is an increase from R337 million as of August last year. It uses Bitcoin as collateral to lend to small and medium-sized businesses, reducing borrowing costs when the virtual currency’s value rises.
Bitcoin’s price has recently see-sawed, having reached a record high of about $126 000 in October 2025, more than doubling its previous 2021 peak, before losing nearly half its value to sit at $71 060 at the time of writing.
ABC’s most recent financial results, for the six months to August, show it reported net profit of R21.3 million, compared with a loss of R6.2 million in August 2024. “This swing into profitability marks the first sustained profit since listing and reflects both revenue momentum and fair value uplifts across core investments,” it says.
Revenue increased 156% year-on-year to R7.7 million, driven primarily by recurring management fees from the investments held by the group and administrative fees from advisory operations. “Importantly, revenue composition is shifting toward more stable, recurring income streams, strengthening earnings quality,” it says.
* Bitcoin’s price is presented in US dollars to provide a more representative view of its value, given rand volatility linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The local currency was trading at R16.55 at the time of writing.
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