Bitcoin miner manufacturer Canaan Creative has raised “several hundred million US dollars” in a fresh funding round.
As per a March 11 report by the Chinese financial news agency Securities Times, the inflow of cash has raised the valuation of the Chinese company to over a billion.
Canaan is the second largest Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer in the world following Bitmain. The company sells Avalon-branded high-performance ASIC-based mining machines for Bitcoin mining, which are designed and manufactured by the firm itself.
Canaan's Saga for IPO Attempts
Similar to its market competitions, the Chinese company was also pushing for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). However, its application lapsed as it failed to reach for a listing hearing within six months.
Despite the failed attempt in Hong Kong, in January, reports surfaced that the miner-manufacturer was planning to go public in the United States market through a New York-based stock exchange.
Hong Kong and New York were not the first markets the Hangzhou-based firm considered to go public as it had earlier tried to list itself in multiple exchanges in China.
In 2016, it tried to gain a listing in China’s yuan-denominated A-share market by buying Shandong-based electric equipment maker Luyitong. However, the plan went awry as the regulators raised questions on the valuation of the deal.
That followed Canaan’s attempt for listing in China’s “New Third Board” market, which primarily caters to startups with its less stringent listing requirements. That also failed, but the company did not reveal the reasons publically.
The Bear Market is Impacting the Mining Business
Canaan’s funding came at a time when the rush for crypto mining cooled off with the slumping prices of the digital coins. Last month, it was revealed that Bitmain endured a loss of $500 million in the third quarter of 2018, based on some public and private financial reports of the firm.
Another Chinese Bitcoin miner manufacturer, Ebang Communications, in its IPO refilling at HKEX reported “significant decreases in revenue and gross profit” for Q3 2018.
Both Bitmain and Ebang’s listing applications are pending with the Hong Kong-based stock exchange. However, the deadline for a listing hearing for the market leader is approaching on March 26, after which its application will lapse.
Meanwhile, last month, one of Canaan’s co-founders stepped down from his position as a board member amid disagreements over the company’s future.
