By On October 30, 2019, Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain is reported to have quietly filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with Deutsche Bank as its sponsor.
After seeing its IPO dreams slashed earlier this year, Bitmain Technologies has reportedly re-submitted its U.S application in secret.
It’s not known how much Bitmain is looking to raise with its IPO, but previous reports suggested that it was looking to raise about $300–$500 million with its U.S offering.
This figure is lower than the $3 billion it intended to raise when it initially filed an IPO application in September 2018 to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
Bitmain will now undergo an inquiry by the SEC before submitting an F1, a certification required for foreign companies before listing in U.S. securities markets.
To increase the company’s chance of a U.S. listing, Bitmain has hired the former representative of Nasdaq China, Zheng Hua, as a consultant.
Management Wars at Bitmain
Bitmain filed with the SEC shortly after a recent management shakeup saw the ousting of Bitmain co-founder and executive director Micree Ketuan Zhan on October 29,2019.
Jihan Wu, Bitmain‘s other co-founder and now chairman of the board, sent an email to all employees on Tuesday, saying:
“Bitmain’s co-founder, chairman, legal representative and executive director Jihan Wu has decided to dismiss all roles of Ketuan Zhan, effective immediately.”
He went on to warn that no Bitmain staff can take any further direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan.
The effects of the leadership shakeup on the U.S IPO listing process have yet to be seen.
U.S. IPO Comes Alongside Remarkable Investment in the Country
Earlier this month, the Bitmain opened a new Bitcoin mining plant in U.S city of Rockdale, Texas. The Beijing company says the plant has an initial power size of 25 megawatts but will be expanded to 50 megawatts and potentially to 300 megawatts.
Founded in 2013, Bitmain claims to control 75% of the world market for Bitcoin mining machines.
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