ChinaMoneySequoia Capital China is said to have led a US$400 million pre-IPO round in Beijing-based Bitcoin miner and mining chip designer Bitmain Technologies Ltd., valuing the firm at US$12 billion, according to Chinese local media reports citing insiders.
Bitmain refused to comment on the matter. Sequoia Capital China did not immediately respond to China Money Network’s email seeking comment.
The report also said that Bitmain plans to apply for an initial public offering in Hong Kong in September and expects to go public with market capitalization between US$30 billion to US$40 billion by the end of this year.
Founded in 2013, Bitmain develops and sells Bitcoin mining machines using its application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip technology. It has offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Qingdao, Chengdu, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Jihan Wu, Bitmain’s co-founder said in an interview with Chinese media that his company will expand Bitcoin mining machines in the next few years to maintain its competitive edge. The company will also release artificial intelligent chips.
Bitmain’s planned IPO follows China’s second largest Bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Canaan Inc’s IPO in Hong Kong in May. Canaan experienced a 28-times growth in revenues and 43-times growth in gross profit in the two years between 2015 to 2017 as Bitcoin mining reached its peak.
