Active Mining Overview
Objective: To educate every shareholder and prospective shareholder on the historical timeline of events and future plans of Active Mining Cooperative so that each individual feels empowered to make the best possible decision regarding whether to invest in Active Mining Cooperative or not.
Initial offering – Active Mining Cooperative/Virtual Mining Corporation
The Active Mining Cooperative was initially created as a mining and development cooperative that shareholders could elect to take part in. It was not, and is not, a mining bond, yet a company with a structured growth plan to increase its own hash rate by the purchases it made previous to the IPO and during the initial IPO. The CEO’s aim was to protect investors as much as possible, while also giving AMC the ability to profit for itself and its shareholders. The initial IPO was opened on March 26th, 2013 at 0.0005 per share (5,000,000 shares released to the public) on BitFunder, and another 20,000,000 shares issued which were to be used for the growth and expansion fund, equating to a total of 25 million shares. At the time of the offering AMC held 6 purchased Avalon batch 2 mining machines, and was able to confirm their existence as AMC awaited shipment. The initial contract created some descent and the CEO was fielding a lot of questions and concerns, while attempting to put out fires. It was long, over complicated, and didn’t seem to have a clean cut offering to the potential shareholders.
The same day, March 26th, a new contract was released in an attempt to correct some of the initial issues. Virtual Mining Corporation was announced as a subsidiary of AMC to work in tandem with a Major Semiconductor Company to develop its fast hash chips (as we now know, this company was eASIC). The mining source code to create RTL for the xc6xlt150 FPGA had been developed over the course of the previous year, and was in the process of being ported over to eASIC’s chip that was to be based on the netExtreme family of designs. AMC was to purchase machines directly from VMC that were developed on the netExtreme families. The important part of this contract change, that became the beginning stumbling block for AMC/VMC and potential shareholders was the issuing of more shares, the complex contract, and now multiple companies. 100,000,000 shares were to be released in total, but the confusing part of the contract rewrite was 20 million to early adopters and 20 million held by AMC for growth and expansion, with the other 60 million shares to be held by ownership. Shares were to be released in batches of no less than 5 million at no less than 0.0005.
That is where things began to go sideways. Many shareholders and members of BitcoinTalk.org were emotional over the changes to the original contract and how some of the questions were being answered and concerns being addressed.
Merger/Emergence of Active Mining Umbrella
The CEO, Kenneth Slaughter, seemed to decide that he needed to really listen, and collaborate, with members of the community and implement the changes that were requested, correct some of the concerns, and really paint an overall picture for the value of the company. A full rewrite was committed and completed, VMC and AMC were merged under the Active Mining umbrella in collaboration with a few dedicated shareholders in the public forum.
The new contract, as it was approved on the forum, was made to be very simple for new shareholders and existing. It read that 25 million shares were to be issued, 10 million of which were to be purchased by shareholders, the other 15 million would be held by Active Mining. The new contract also took into account voting, and it is stated that Active Mining can be allowed in the future to issue more shares as a last resort measure after shareholder approval. Important note here is the Public Investors Protection Plan; the first 10 million Active Mining shares that were released to the public are entitled to all profits until 0.0025/share is paid out in full, beginning from the day dividends begin to be issued. This means the 15 million shares held by Active Mining will receive no dividends until the first 10 million receive the full investment back of 0.0025. These few citations were incredibly important to the forum members working together with Active Mining to rewrite this contract.
This rewrite, and issuing only 25 million shares, increased the shareholders percentage of the company to 40%, up from 10% as the initial offering stated (100 million shares, now 25 million). This is a 4 fold uptick in value for current holders. The shareholders who previously held AMC shares are given the opportunity to swap their shares on a 1:1 basis and are also covered under the public investor’s protection plan.
Mistakes that were made in the initial days
In the initial offering there were a few mistakes made by the new CEO and AMC as a whole. Kenneth Slaughter is an Engineer by nature and in heart; he is not an Underwriter, nor a Broker nor a Portfolio Manager. The public company offering was, as far as I can tell, his first public offering. The changing of share count, from 25 million to 100 million was mistake one. Having these multiple companies in the same house also confused investors and sent up red flags. He also moved blocks of IPO shares around at different prices, first 0.0005, then to 0.0008, and back to 0.0005. He was seeing the value of his company, and I think with him rushing to get this NRE finished, and the company off the ground, he made this mistake. Really, I feel the initial IPO should have been at 0.0025 as you could see the ambitious nature of this project, and the potential profits it could have been discovered.
Kenneth’s communication skills at the onset were lacking as well, but I am not going to hold it at this point in time, as we all make mistakes when we are so busy. The communication, I believe, is what caused all the misunderstandings with investors and their rage.
The mistakes were corrected with the full rewrite and public offering in collaboration with shareholders and BitcoinTalk.org forum members, including myself. Communication from Active Mining has been excellent since this merger was first conceived and implemented. In talks with Ken, I believe there are plans for a PR rep or department to handle some of the questions that arise or concerns.
So where is Active Mining at now?
Active Mining is the identity completely owned by Active Mining Corporation (Belize). The company currently owns 6 Avalon machines for a total of ~430 GH/s. There is an order of Avalon chips from Steamboats batch 1 group buy already purchased, for 68 Klondike boards rated at ~307 GH/s. It is estimated these will arrive no later than the end of August. There is also an order of 20k Avalon chips that were ordered end of May and beginning of June in two 10k purchases for a hashrate of 5,640 GH/s. In total, around ~6,377 GH/s is expected to come online by the end of August/early September.
Active Mining Corp. also has its already announced relationship with eASIC, an ASIC chip manufacturer, to develop its chips on the 28nm architecture, and is in the process of collecting the funds for the NRE. As of this writing, my calculations show 6366.47 BTC and $588,635 from pre-orders, which are available for the NRE less expenses, meaning Active Mining is ready, or very close, to finishing off the NRE required for eASIC to begin production of the ASIC chips going into Active Mining’s Fast Hash machines. These numbers are my own rough estimations (thanks to Vbs!), as Active Mining is not disclosing how close they are to completion of the NRE, and for good reason.
Once production of the chips begin, eASIC states they will deliver sample chips in 9 weeks, low volume chip production in 12 weeks, and full production in 16-18 weeks. For more information on eASIC please see the links below.
Join us on IRC!! Freenode #ActiveMiningQuestion & Answer
Q. Why did Ken position more shares at 0.0008 then back to 0.0005?
A. I believe he had stated the IPO was to be at 0.0005, but that later shares would be sold at market price. However, the wording on the contract was askew and the exchange holder made him release the second round at 0.0005, when the market price was at 0.0008. This angered a lot of speculators.
Q. Who is eASIC and why did Ken choose this manufacturer?
A. eASIC has become one of the leaders and fastest growing semi-conductor manufacturers in North America. I believe Ken chose them not only because of their reputation in the field of ASIC chip design, but also because of its proximity.
Q. What happens if Active Mining does not reach its NRE goal by the deadline of July 31st?
A. Actually, there is no deadline. The July 31st date was an estimation that was presented to eASIC for when the NRE would complete. There is quite a bit of flexibility for the completion of the NRE and eASIC has been following the progress since Ken incorporated. The NRE is almost complete as of today, so this is a moot point. NRE IS COMPLETE
Q. How long do we have until we cannot transfer our AMC-PT shares to ActiveMining?
A. The deadling given by Ken was July 31st.
Q. When does Active Mining, more specifically Virtual Mining Corp, expect to be shipping the Fast-Hash-One miners?
A. October/November 2013
Q. Why is Ken using stolen pictures representing his miners?
A. This is a myth indeed; those pictures are of the chassis the miners will go in. They are Chenbro rack mount server chassis that can be modified for many different purposes. The pictures are not stolen and represent to the potential customers what the miner housing will look like. Follow this link for visual credence
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98907028@N08/9282025798/Q. What is on the immediate horizon for Active Mining?
A. Payment for the assembly of the 68 Klondike boards has been accepted as of July 3rd. The 20k Avalon chips are inbound as well. The immediate horizon estimates 6,377 GH/s by no later than the end of August.
Q. What is with all the names, AMC, VMC, Active Mining?
A. When this venture was first conceived AMC was essentially the entity that the shareholders represented. VMC was the producer and seller of the miners. The separate companies threw investors off. Now, to make it much more simple for investors to understand, Active Mining is the umbrella that all holders are invested in. VMC should just be seen as the sales division and AMC as the mining division. As an investor you are invested in all of Active Mining, its sales and mining revenue, hence the merger.
Important Links and updates:
Sorry for the links, some of these just won't hyperlink for some reasonBoard announced:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2968841#msg2968841AMC Tender to Active Mining Dividends payment update:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2900081#msg2900081August 4th and 5th: ActiveMining-PR established, Advisory Board in construction, legalities and responsibilities to be determined:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=142728;sa=showPostsKen returns from the west coast, meets with the Eng. Firm, eASIC, and pays Divs:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2857653#msg2857653 Stayed an extra day:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2860656#msg2860656 and the plane was delayed:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2857678#msg2857678 Still waiting on the final shares to tender manually.
August 3rd: Auto-Share transfer complete:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2858549#msg2858549Ukyo updates us on the auto-share transfer and delay:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2852808#msg2852808July 31st: Ken announces share swap on Bitfunder in cooperation with Ukyo:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2843386#msg2843386July 29th: Ken moves 120k shares from BitFunder to BTCT - a major investor (Volcanic Eruptor) pays premium of $5k USD for transfer:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2828719#msg2828719 +
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2828719#msg2828719 + watch the share count on BF:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2828943#msg2828943July 26th: Ken updates us on his meeting with eASIC and hints at an Official Announcement:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2809363#msg2809363Active Mining Corp Private Placement Memorandum:
http://axs.net/AMC/PPM/AM.pdf and
http://axs.net/AMC/PPM/AM1.pdfJuly 24th: Ken departs for California to meet with eASIC.
Avalon prototypes are about a week behind:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2774323#msg2774323Babefoot released his report on meeting Ken:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2767646#msg2767646July 21st: Ken is to be traveling this week to eASIC and is seeking to hammer down the final steps in getting this chip into production:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2774070#msg2774070July 19th: Ken announces the RTL code was tested for feasibility:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=206488.msg2765874#msg2765874July 19th: Well that didnt take long, AMC-PT set a record, I believe today, for the 24 hour volume on BTCT. As of this writing it sits at 1403697 shares moved over this period. The wall on BTCT has been completely smashed well ahead of the expected completion date. Congrats to all!
https://btct.co/security/AMC-PTKen announces on July 18th @ 10:11am EST pre-order sales top $580k:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2755486#msg2755486Ken announces timeline for Klondike and Avalon clones, 3 and 6 weeks respectively:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=158806.msg2751822#msg2751822Here is the Engineering Firm quote for the machines that will host the incoming Avalon chips:
http://axs.net/AMC/SB-Prototype-Quote.jpgThis is the eASIC chip NDA on file:
http://axs.net/AMC/eAsic-NDA0001.jpg and
http://axs.net/AMC/eAsic-NDA0002.jpgPayment update for Klondike assembly (July 3rd):
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=158806.msg2647145#msg2647145Important update on the Klondike assembly:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2724773#msg2724773Update to the dividend payment made on July 12th and the questions surrounding its amount:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2715922#msg2715922Picture of the office:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2711010#msg2711010Pictures of Springfield Underground data center:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=158806.msg2640041#msg2640041Update email regarding the prototypes from the engineers:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=206488.msg2694708#msg2694708Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fast-Hash/319110168218206Babefoots initial summary of visit:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252531.msg2725919#msg2725919 and pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98907028@N08/eASIC articles: http://www.easic.com/high-speed-transceivers-low-cost-power-fpga-nre-asic-45nm-easic-nextreme-2/easic-nextreme-2-fast-turnaround-asics-manufacturing/http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1316644http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EASIChttp://www.easic.com/easic-rated-third-fastest-growing-semiconductor-company-in-north-america-on-deloittes-2012-technology-fast-500/http://pcsemicon.blogspot.com/2013/02/violin-memory-selects-easic-for-flash.htmlDisclosure: I am a shareholder of Active Mining, but am no way affiliated with Ken on a personal level. I only know him through the posts on Bitcointalk.org and private messages back and forth. I am not paid by Active Mining other than what my shares represent, and only bought in at the 0.0025 second IPO offering. I started out thinking I didn’t want to miss the boat on another potentially huge investment, like how I missed getting into Bitcoin early. I became skeptical just as many other potential shareholders early on and jumped ship during the IPO, but as the information came to light, and Ken stepped up his game, I jumped right back in.
Big credit goes out to lewicki, Vbs, lolstate, ArcticWolf, ffssixtynine, and Ken for assisting me in creating this document overview. Thanks guys, great work!!VBS put together this projections spreadsheet with sales and incorporating shares issued to Active Mining Corporation along with public shareholders, with dividends
New update, this time I considered some hardware selling estimates, as well as the impact of Ken's 15M shares on the whole operation.
(any errors found, just shout!
)
Considerations:- Mining
- Klondikes mining at August (worst case)
- Avalon chips overclocked to 380MHz, since they will be running on Springfield Underground data center
- November/December (worst case) hashrate increase from the high-volume process (low-volume is not worth it for just a ~month difference), using BTC1.2 per chip+assembly cost, chips at 16GH/s, not overclocked
- 50% of mining dividends used to buy new Fast-Hash-One 16GH/s chips
- Total network hashrate includes ActM's mining plus hardware sold to other parties (200% markup)
- Sales
- Sales volume is really hard to predict. I just assumed it to be 2x the profits of mining, which I still think is really on the low side, as ActM is gonna also sell chips in bulk. For example, Avalon in getting ready to ship its ~BTC164,000 in bulk chips. There is definitely money to be made in bulk chip sales!
Conclusions:- Investors are fully reimbursed of their paid BTC.0025/share around December/January
- The MH/s/share and MH/s/BTC are indeed crazy profitable
- As soon as the unit price of chips gets down (it will drop 1/3 to 1/4 even before going to easicopy), the hashrate can rise even much further
- Having direct access to buy hardware at manufacturing cost is what really makes this possible
- The effect of hardware sales is just mind boggling
