Ebang launches a $ 100 million IPO in the US to go public

Ebang International Holdings, one of the leading manufacturers of bitcoin mining equipment, is making another attempt to become public, this time further away from home and with a smaller fundraising goal.

The China-based Hangzhou company aims to raise up to $ 100 million from an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) April 24 document.

The Chinese company would be listed under the ticker symbol EBON on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq. Loop Capital Markets in Chicago and AMTD Global Markets in Hong Kong are the signatories of the agreement.

This is Ebang's second attempt to transform itself into a public venture after it failed to do so on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in June 2018. Proceeds from the IPO target were estimated at $ 1 billion.

Founded in 2010, Ebang is among the first hardware companies based in China, such as Bitmain and Caanan Creative, to develop application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) specific for applications and integrated circuits (ICs) without need for bitcoin mining machines. The company confidentially filed the IPO in February without revealing the pricing terms, says Renaissance Capital.

Second chance

Ebang is one of several crypto companies that failed to launch an IPO in Hong Kong and later came to the United States for a new attempt.The rival bitcoin mining producers Bitmain and Cannan Creative tried to go public on HKEX. , but plans failed because local regulators were reluctant to accept any cryptocurrency related companies.

Cannan then managed to launch his IPO on Nasdaq last December. The Huobi group, a leading volume cryptocurrency exchange, acquired a Hong Kong-based electronics manufacturer last year in an attempt to be listed through a reverse acquisition. However, the process was suspended due to regulations. stricter mergers and acquisitions.

Risk factors

While Ebang is unsure of the impact that May halving would have on the price of bitcoin, the company sees China's ever-changing regulations, potential strong price drops and the COVID-19 pandemic as substantial risk factors. for its revenue streams, according to the document.

"The significant drop in the price of Bitcoins is expected to have a negative effect on the value of our inventory of bitcoin mining machines and encourage us to increase credit sales," the company said in the filed document, referring to the collapse of the market of March.

The Chinese government once planned to phase out cryptocurrency mining activities and did not change the arrangement until several months ago. Different policies from different provinces also pose a challenge for bitcoin miners. The coronavirus epidemic in China has delayed the delivery of mining machines from almost all manufacturers.