On Feb. 14, California-headquartered gaming and computer hardware manufacturer Nvidia reported full-year revenue gains in 2018, despite being one of the companies worst hit by the cryptocurrency market dip and subsequent lack of demand for mining components. The firm’s main products include graphics processing units (GPU), among others, which became widely purchased by miners during the crypto boom of 2017 — as a result, the firm’s revenue started to correlate with the crypto market condition (at least to some extent), which resulted in a few shake-ups. 2017: Nvidia enjoys the crypto boom, becomes substantial part of the market In 2017, …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining giant Bitmain could have made losses of around $500 million in Q3 last year, industry magazine CoinDesk reported on Feb. 19, citing a company document. Bitmain, which is currently attempting to launch an initial public offering (IPO) under the auspices of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), submitted a report into its earnings in line with listing requirements. According to the publication, that report indicated that for 2018 as a whole, excluding Q4, revenue was $3 billion and profits $500 million. This contrasts with previous figures for the first half of the year, for which profit was …

Chinese mining giant and ASIC hardware producer Bitmain has announced its next generation 7nm (nanometer) ASIC mining chip, according to a press release published on Monday, Feb. 18. The new mining hardware, BM1397, is designed for mining cryptocurrencies that use the SHA256 algorithm for their proof-of-work (PoW), such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). BM1397 requires less power for mining cryptocurrencies, representing a 28.6 percent improvement in power efficiency in comparison with the company’s previous 7nm chip, BM1391. The new chip will be used in new Antminer models — S17 and T17 — which will be revealed later this …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining has become more decentralized and continues to diversify, a new report from Canadian wealth management company Canaccord claimed on Feb. 6. Canaccord, which tracks the blockchain and digital currency sectors along with its other financial operations, highlighted the increasingly wide distribution of Bitcoin’s hash rate over the past five years. This, the report says, represents a competitive marketplace which in turn makes the largest cryptocurrency less vulnerable to attack. Multiple mining pools currently contribute to Bitcoin network transaction processing, with that number increasing significantly since 2014. According to Canaccord’s data, in 2014, the Ghash.io pool controlled around …

The head of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) has addressed queries about initial public offering (IPO) listings amid confusion over Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain’s application. English-language newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the comments on Jan. 24. Speaking at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, HKEX CEO Charles Li Xiaojia said that it was important IPO candidates were consistent about their business offerings. “If a company made billions of US dollars through Business A, but suddenly said it will do Business B without showing any performance, or said Business B is better, then I don’t …

Chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) reported a sizeable drop in its crypto mining-related revenue in 2018. The news was revealed in the company’s Q4 2018 financial results, published Jan. 17, together with an earnings call transcript. TSMC has not disclosed specific data for its crypto mining business — including it instead within its high-performance computing (HPC) segment. In the earnings call transcript, TSMC CEO & Vice Chairman C.C. Wei revealed that whereas HPC, excluding crypto, had grown slightly: “[C]ryptocurrency is a big drop from 2018 to 2019. So if we put the cryptocurrency together in the HPC, it's …

Cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain Technologies has opted to reduce its operations in the Netherlands, the company said in a statement on Jan. 14. Bitmain, which in November announced the first in what has become a series of cost-saving measures by shutting down a blockchain development center in Israel, said the move was part of its longer-term roadmap. The company has reportedly suffered as a result of decreased profitability of Bitcoin mining in recent months, with Bitcoin (BTC) currently circling $3,600. “As we build a long-term, sustainable and scalable business, we are making adjustments to our staff and operations. This includes …

China-based leading mining and mining ASIC hardware producer Bitmain has reportedly suspended its mining operations in Rockdale, public radio station Texas Public Radio reports on Jan. 10. Rockdale is located in Milam County, east of Austin, in the United States state of Texas. Steve Young, a Milam County Judge, issued a statement reporting that all Bitmain employees but two engineers and the director of human relations had been laid off, and all operations had been suspended. According to the article, Young said later that the company told him Bitmain will scale down the operation rather than shut it down, now …

This article was updated on Jan. 14 to include recent developments. On Jan. 10, news emerged that Chinese Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain’s co-founders, Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan Ketuan, will step down as co-CEOs of the company. The move follows a streak of reports suggesting that Bitmain has been facing mass layoffs, class action lawsuits and difficulties related to its initial public offering (IPO) during the last quarter of 2018. So what exactly is happening with one of the world’s most influential crypto outfits? Brief introduction to Bitmain, the world’s most powerful crypto mining giant Bitmain was founded in 2013 …

Chinese Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain’s co-founders Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan Ketuan will quit their posts as co-CEOs but still steer the company’s important decisions. Hong Kong-based English-language news outlet South China Morning Post reported the news Jan. 10. Referencing anonymous “people familiar with the matter,” the publication said Bitmain’s director of product engineering Wang Haichao would likely take over as CEO at an unspecified future date. Haichao has allegedly already taken over some of the duo’s former duties. The reshuffle, which Bitmain declined to formally confirm, follows several weeks of rumors about changes at senior executive level. Without quoting …

2018 has been a difficult year for Bitcoin and crypto miners. Some of the largest multi-billion dollar businesses in Asia recorded losses in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars. As Japanese internet conglomerate GMO and the industry’s largest mining equipment manufacturer, Bitmain, reportedly struggled throughout the year, the entire sector is said to have ended the year with significant losses, following the trend of the two companies. $320 million loss for GMO GMO, one of the most influential internet companies in Japan, recorded a loss of over $320 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Following what the …

Jihan Wu and the Jenke Group will be reportedly soon retire as CEOs of leading mining ASIC producer Bitmain. Rumors about their departure were reported by Chinese local media Odaily on Dec. 28. Odaily quotes an unnamed source familiar with the situation that Bitmain is currently in a transition period. Furthermore, the article also reports that employees allegedly weren't optimistic about the outcomes of the double-CEO system. The Chinese local outlet also notes that their successor is supposedly surnamed Wang, without providing further information. In mid-November, Chinese local media reported that Wu would no longer be able to influence corporate …