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Chinese firm Bitmain Technologies Ltd., the world’s dominant producer of cryptocurrency mining chips, could be preparing to go public soon, according to a report filed by Bloomberg News.
The company's 32-year-old founder, Jihan Wu, recently spoke with Bloomberg News.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Wu said Bitmain booked $2.5 billion of revenue last year and that he and co-founder Micree Zhan together own about 60 percent of the business. While Bitmain has few direct comparables, applying a multiple similar to that of publicly traded chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp. and MediaTek Inc. would give the company a valuation of about $8.8 billion. That would make the co-founders’ holdings worth a combined $5.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Wu has previously stated Bitmain is worth $12 billion.
An IPO would not only open Bitmain’s books to the world, it would also allow the stock market to assign the company a value in real time. While Wu said he has no specific plans at the moment, he’s open to a listing in Hong Kong -- or in an overseas market with U.S. dollar-denominated shares -- because it would give early investors including Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital a chance to cash out.
A public share sale would be a landmark event for both Bitmain and the broader crypto industry, which is slowly emerging from the shadows. Miners, developers and venture capitalists are opting for more transparency as they try to placate wary regulators and prove that last year’s boom in digital assets was more than just a flash in the pan.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
