Bitmain's Biggest Bitcoin Mining Rival Plots $1 Billion Hong Kong IPO

Canaan Creative, China’s second-largest bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, plans to raise $1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK).

The South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday that the Hangzhou-based firm will be the first blockchain startup to list on the SEHK, though sources also say that a final decision has not yet been made.

Previously, Canaan had mulled holding an IPO in the US, and Chairman Kong Jianping said that the firm was also considering a secondary listing on the Chinese mainland, perhaps through the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

If Canaan successfully raises $1 billion, it will mark a nearly 100 percent increase from the $523 million valuation it received in 2016 at the conclusion of a $43 million Series A funding round.

Canaan said last month that it produces 20 percent of bitcoin mining rigs sold globally, and unaudited reports from the company indicate it made a $64 million net profit in 2017. The firm has said that expects year-over-year gross revenue to jump by more than 700 percent to 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in 2018.

Most of that remaining market share belongs to Bitmain, who also produces mining rigs for a variety of other mining algorithms, including those used by ethereum, litecoin, and most other major Proof-of-Work (PoW) altcoins.

As CCN reported, Bitmain is said to have raked in as much as $4 billion in operating profit last year, ranking it favorably with chipmaking giant Nvidia — a firm that is currently valued at $153 billion.

Despite these astronomical profits, the secretive firm often manages to fly under the radar, and founder Jihan Wu was not even named in the inaugural Forbes Crypto Rich List.

In March, reports emerged that Bitmain was starting a US mining operation through Washington-based subsidiary Ant Creek, and the firm has also revealed plans to expand into other regions including Canada and Switzerland.