Exclusive | Bitmain seen posting Q2 loss in Hong Kong IPO filing as cryptocurrency slump erodes mining rig demand
The world's biggest bitcoin miner probably racked up a US$395 million loss in the April-to-June quarter, based on calculations made by the South China Morning Post comparing the first and second-quarter numbers of the Chinese company
The 70 per cent crash in bitcoin prices from its peak in December last year has affected demand for the specialist equipment used to produce new digital currencies.
That is showing up in the accounts of Bitmain Technologies, the world’s biggest supplier of so-called cryptocurrency mining rigs. The Beijing-based company, founded by Wu Jihan and Micree Zhan Ketuan, is going for a highly anticipated initial public offering in Hong Kong, having filed its pre-IPO prospectus late on Wednesday with the stock exchange.
Bitmain probably racked up a loss in the April-to-June quarter, based on calculations made by the South China Morning Post comparing the first and second-quarter numbers of the Chinese company.
In the first three months of this year, Bitmain made a US$1.1 billion profit, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Its reported first-half profit of US$742.7 million suggested that the company had a US$395 million loss in the three months ended June, a calculation that the person familiar agreed with.
A spokesman for Bitmain declined to comment when asked to confirm the estimated second-quarter loss.