Chinese Bitcoin Mining Giant Files For $200 Million US IPO: Report

The Chinese maker of Bitcoin mining hardware Canaan Creative is allegedly seeking to go public in the U.S. Per a report which appeared on a Chinese social media platform, Canaan has already filed the application documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cryptocurrency mining rigs maker is seeking to raise approximately $200 million from the IPO.

Snubbed by HKEX, Canaan tries Uncle Sam

This comes more than a year after the mining hardware firm filed an IPO application on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Bitcoin mining device maker, however, let the application lapse after six months. At the time Canaan was seeking to raise $400 million and this was way lower than had been touted in early 2018, per the South China Morning Post.

Canaan’s rival in the Bitcoin mining space, Bitmain, also attempted to list on HKEX, Hong Kong’ stock exchange last year to no avail. It is not clear which firm is following the other’s playbook though. Last month Bloomberg had reported that Bitmain was preparing for a U.S. public listing.

At the time, the business publication reported that Bitmain had already recruited advisers to work on the IPO application. Bitmain, which is also based in China, had been aiming to file the listing documents with the SEC as soon as July.

Bitcoin mining firms lower ambitions

And just like Canaan Creative, Bitmain has also reportedly lowered its fundraising target. In the failed Hong Kong IPO bid, Bitmain had been seeking to raise up to $3 billion. The world’s largest maker of Bitcoin mining hardware is now aiming to raise between $300 million to $500 million.

If Canaan and Bitmain succeed in IPOing in the U.S., they will join other tech giants from their home country who have successfully listed in the world’s largest economy. This includes online retailer Alibaba, online search engine Baidu, social network Weibo and e-commerce platform JD.com.