Bitmain

2019-06-16T15:46:41Z

86.155.125.169: avoid slang

{{short description|Chinese software and hardware company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bitmain Technologies Ltd.
| logo = Bitmain.svg
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry =
| founded = 2013
| founder = [[Jihan Wu]] and [[Micree Zhan]]
| hq_location_city = [[Beijing, China]]
| area_served = Worldwide
| brands = AntMiner, AntPool, Hashnest
| website = {{URL|bitmain.com}}
}}

'''Bitmain Technologies Ltd'''., or '''Bitmain''', is a [[privately held company|privately owned]] company headquartered in [[Beijing, China]] that designs [[application-specific integrated circuit]] (ASIC) chips for [[bitcoin mining]].

==Company==
It was founded by [[Jihan Wu]] and [[Micree Zhan]] in 2013. Prior to founding Bitmain, Wu was a [[financial analyst]] and [[private equity fund|private equity]] fund manager and Zhan was running DivaIP, a startup that allowed users to stream television to a computer screen via a set-top box.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://qz.com/1053799/chinas-bitmain-dominates-bitcoin-mining-now-it-wants-to-cash-in-on-artificial-intelligence/|title=China’s Bitmain dominates bitcoin mining. Now it wants to cash in on artificial intelligence|last=Wong|first=Joon Ian|work=Quartz|access-date=2017-12-04|language=en-US}}</ref>

By 2018 it had become the world's largest designer of [[application-specific integrated circuit]] (ASIC) chips for [[bitcoin mining]].<ref name="ft">{{Cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a013c048-c1f6-11e8-8d55-54197280d3f7 |title=China’s crypto mining rig-maker Bitmain plans Hong Kong listing |last=Lucas |first=Louise |date=2018-09-27 |work=Financial Times |access-date=2018-09-27 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The company also operates BTC.com and Antpool, historically two of the largest [[mining pool]]s for [[bitcoin]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-bitcoin-mining-bitmain-revenues-ipo-filing-hong-kong-profits-2018-9|title=Chinese bitcoin mining giant Bitmain had revenues of $2.8 billion in the first half of the year|work=Business Insider|access-date=2018-11-07}}</ref> In an effort to boost [[Bitcoin Cash]] (BCH) prices, Antpool "burned" 12% of the BCH they mined by sending them to irrecoverable addresses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wj7a8x/why-is-antpool-bitmain-burning-bitcoin-cash-fee-black-hole|title=Why a Cryptocurrency Mining Giant Is Burning Money in a ‘Black Hole’|date=2018-04-20|work=Motherboard|access-date=2018-11-07|language=en-us}}</ref>

Bitmain was reportedly profitable in early 2018,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cheng|first1=Evelyn|title=Secretive Chinese bitcoin mining company may have made as much money as Nvidia last year|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/23/secretive-chinese-bitcoin-mining-company-may-have-made-as-much-money-as-nvidia-last-year.html|accessdate=30 April 2018|publisher=CNBC|date=23 February 2018}}</ref> with a [[net profit]] of $742.7 million in the first half of 2018,<ref name="ipo" /> and negative operating cash flow.<ref name="ft"/> [[TechCrunch]] reported that unsold inventory ballooned to one billion dollars in the second quarter of 2018.<ref name="Techcrunch20180927">{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Joyce |title=
Bitmain IPO concerns: the crypto giant recorded a big loss in Q2 2018|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/bitmain-ipo-concerns/ |accessdate=8 November 2018 |publisher=Techcrunch |date=October 2018}}</ref>

In June 2018, Wu told [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] that Bitmain was considering an [[Initial public offering|IPO]] for producing capital to expand its producing hardware.<ref name="Bloomy">{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Blake |title=Crypto's 32-Year-Old Billionaire Mining King Considers an IPO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-07/crypto-s-32-year-old-billionaire-mining-king-is-mulling-an-ipo |accessdate=28 September 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=7 June 2018}}</ref> The company completed its $1 billion pre-IPO registration with the [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]] in August,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://technode.com/2018/08/13/worlds-largest-bitcoin-mining-company-bitmain-plans-an-ipo-greater-than-facebooks/ |title=World's largest bitcoin mining company Bitmain plans an IPO greater than Facebook's |last=Zhao |first=Runhua |date=2018-08-13 |work=TechNode |access-date=2018-08-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> and filed for IPO in September.<ref name="ipo">{{Cite news |url=https://technode.com/2018/09/27/bitmain-ipo-hong-kong/ |title=Bitmain files for IPO in Hong Kong |last=Hu |first=Bailey |date=2018-09-27 |work=TechNode |access-date=2018-09-27 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ft" />
[[File:ANTMINER-S9-14THS.jpg|thumb|Antminer S9]]
Bitmain Technologies filed for [[Initial public offering|IPO]] on September 26th, 2018 with the Hong Kong regulatory agency and released their first public [[financial statement]] and ending the speculation on the company's plans at a time where Bitcoin prices have dropped 65% as compared to December 2017 which have hurt mining hardware sale that accounts 96% of their revenue. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-26/crypto-billionaires-open-their-books-with-bitmain-ipo-filing|title=The World's Biggest Crypto Company Just Opened the Books for Its IPO|last=Patterson|first=Michael|date=September 26, 2018|website=www.bloomberg.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2018-10-21}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bitmain-ipo/cryptocurrency-giant-bitmain-chooses-hong-kong-for-ipo-idUSKCN1M627L|title=Cryptocurrency giant Bitmain chooses Hong Kong for IPO|last=John|first=Alun|work=U.S.|access-date=2018-10-21|language=en-US}}</ref> Bitmain will use a dual class share structure. In Bitmain's case, this means the share held by company's founders would count as 10 votes. <ref name=":02" />

Bitmain's first product was the Antminer S1 which is a [[Application-specific integrated circuit|ASIC]] Bitcoin miner making 180 GH/s while using 80-200 Watts of power.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/17/ten_bitcoin_miners/|title=MANIC MINERS: Ten Bitcoin generating machines|access-date=2018-11-06|language=en}}</ref>

Bitmain as of 2018 had 11 mining farms operating in China.<ref name="Techcrunch20180927"></ref>

Bitmain was involved in the 2018 [[Bitcoin Cash]] split, siding on the side of Bitcoin Cash ABC alongside [[Roger Ver]].<ref name="Bloom17112018">{{cite news |last1=Kharif |first1=Olga |title=Bitcoin Cash Clash Is Costing Billions With No End in Sight|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-16/bitcoin-cash-clash-is-costing-billions-with-no-end-in-sight |accessdate=18 November 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=17 November 2018}}</ref>

In December 2018 the company laid off about half of its 3000 staff.{{cn|date=May 2019}} The company has since closed its offices in Israel and the Netherlands, while significantly downsizing its Texas mining operation.{{cn|date=May 2019}}

In February 2019, Bitmain had lost “about $500 million” in the third quarter of 2018.{{cn|date=May 2019}} Bitmain issued a statement saying “the rumors are not true and we will make announcements in due course.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ji |first1=Qian |title=比特大陆回应2018年Q3财报亏损约5亿美元:传闻不实_财经网 - CAIJING.COM.CN |url=http://m.caijing.com.cn/api/show?contentid=4563868 |website=m.caijing.com.cn |accessdate=25 February 2019}}</ref>

On March 26, 2019, Bitmain’s application for a Hong Kong initial public offering lapsed, six months after it was filed, as investors were reportedly concerned about the fall in Bitcoin's value.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lucas |first1=Louise |title=Plans for world’s largest cryptocurrency IPO shelved |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fb814562-4c8f-11e9-8b7f-d49067e0f50d |website=Financial Times |accessdate=27 March 2019}}</ref> The company issued a statement saying it would “restart the listing application work at an appropriate time in the future.” Bitmain also announced that Haichao Wang would serve as its new CEO, while co-founders Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu will continue as directors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=FIoretti |first1=Julia |title=Cryptocurrency miner Bitmain lets Hong Kong IPO application lapse |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bitmain-ipo-lapse/cryptocurrency-miner-bitmain-lets-hong-kong-ipo-application-lapse-idUSKCN1R70SG |website=Reuters |accessdate=27 March 2019 |language=en |date=26 March 2019}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Bitcoin companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in Beijing]]
[[Category:Chinese companies established in 2013]]
[[Category:Application-specific integrated circuits]]
[[Category:Hardware acceleration]]

{{Bitcoin}}

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Bitmain