Chinese bitcoin miner manufacturer EBang Communication files for IPO in Hong Kong

EBang Communication, one of the largest Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturers in China, filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on Monday.

According to International Financing Review (IFR), the Zhejiang-based firm has started working with the advisers on a Hong-Kong float. It is potentially seeking to raise a staggering $1 billion to fund growth, but is still unclear about the valuation.

A financial statement was included in the filing which stated that the revenue earned by Ebang was 925 million yuan ($141 million) in 2017, an eighteen-time increase from 2016. There was a significant increase in the sales of the Bitcoin miner, from 31 percent in 2015 to 42 percent in 2015, to 94.6 percent in 2017. The filing suggested that this was the proportion of Ebang’s revenue generated solely.

Founded in 2010, Ebang Communication started by manufacturing hardware products for the telecommunication industry. In 2016, the firm moved into the cryptocurrency mining business competing with Chinese bitcoin mining giant Bitmain and Cannan Creative by launching its own Ebit miners. In January 2017, the company showed a 600-fold increase in its annual net income of 410 million yuan ($62mln) in its unaudited results.

As per a report by Cointelegraph, Ebang is in the process of releasing bitcoin miners who will be equipped with 7nm semiconductor chips, a tech launched by Japan’s IT giant GMO Internet.

In May, the local media reported that Ebang's competitor firm Canaan Creative is also seeking to raise $1 billion and is expected to start trading its IPO on the HKEX in July.