Cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain plans up to US$3 billion IPO
Beijing-based Bitmain is estimated to control as much as 80 per cent of the global market for cryptocurrency mining gear
Bitmain Technologies, the world’s biggest producer of cryptocurrency mining chips, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) that could raise as much as US$3 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Beijing-based company, whose millennial co-founder Jihan Wu is one of the most powerful players in cryptocurrency, plans to file a listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange as early as September, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
If the share sale proceeds as planned, it would represent a major test of investor appetite for digital currency companies after the market value of bitcoin and its peers tumbled by more than 75 per cent since early January.
A successful listing would be a landmark event for the cryptocurrency industry, which is increasingly trying to move from the fringes of finance into the mainstream.
Yet for Bitmain – which is estimated to control as much as 80 per cent of the market for cryptocurrency mining gear – an IPO may also represent a step toward a future beyond cryptocurrency.