ASIC Manufacturer

Chinese Lottery Firm Rebrands, Purchases Bitcoin Mining Rig Manufacturer for $100 Million

Following the acquisition of the Chinese mining pool Btc.com, the China-based lottery company 500.com revealed the purchase of a bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Bee Computing. The Shenzhen firm purchased the semiconductor and mining device manufacturer for roughly $100 million in a share exchange agreement.

500.com Changes Name to Bit Mining Limited and Acquires Bee Computing for $100 Million

On April 5, 2021, the company 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) registered a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a Form 6-K filing. The Shenzhen-based firm detailed that it entered into a share exchange agreement with the company Bee Computing. The mining rig manufacturer Bee Computing was established in 2018 and the filing notes that it specializes in 7nm-powered mining machines. Additionally, after acquiring the well-established mining pool Btc.com, 500.com changed its name to “Bit Mining Limited.”

Bee Computing has two mining rigs and both leverage 7nm semiconductors. The Pumbaa mining machine gets around 52 terahash per second (TH/s) and the B2T series gets around 21 TH/s. The most powerful miner has an efficiency rating of around 54 joules per terahash (J/TH) and the B2T has around 55 J/TH. The share exchange agreement is noteworthy and totals around $100 million for the acquisition.

The company’s SEC filing explains:

Pursuant to the share exchange agreement, the company shall, subject to customary conditions, [and will] issue at the first closing an aggregate of 16,038,930, or US$35 million worth, of its Class A ordinary shares to the selling shareholders. The first closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2021. Subject to satisfaction of the following milestones, the company shall issue at the subsequent closing an aggregate of 29,786,600, or US$65 million worth, of its Class A ordinary shares to selling shareholders and research and development team members.

Bee Computing to Continue Mass ASIC Mining Rig Production

Bee Computing is expected to continue the mass production of bitcoin miners incorporated with 7-nanometer application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). The manufacturer must continue the development of machines with 7nm technology and deploy ETH-based ASIC mining machines as well. Bit Mining also wants Bee Computing to develop litecoin (LTC) mining machines.

According to the filing, Bee Computing has invested over $35 million into R&D projects and leveraged Mediatek Inc., the largest IC design company in Asia to help with the 7nm chips. Yufei Jiang, CEO of Bee Computing says the chips stem from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

What do you think about 500.com’s purchase of Bee Computing and its entry into the bitcoin mining space? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitmain Cofounder Allegedly Expelled - Could Face Litigation for Operation Interference

One of the largest ASIC mining manufacturers worldwide, Bitmain, has allegedly ousted cofounder Micree Zhan. Regional reports note that he’s been threatened with litigation if he interferes with company operations. According to two local announcements written in Chinese, Bitmain has warned Zhan two times not to intervene with employees.

Last October, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Chinese mining rig manufacturer Bitmain and how the company purportedly filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a confidential fashion.

Nothing ever transpired with the IPO, at least publicly, but during that same month there were rumors that said Micree Zhan was removed from his position. Now two alleged directives from Bitmain confirm that the cofounder was exiled from the company’s operatives.

The two statements were posted to Bitmain’s Weibo page on Wednesday and a rough translation describes the events. One document explains that the company’s board of shareholders removed Zhan from all business operations and corporate roles.

The statement also notes that if Zhan attempts to interfere with company business and employees they will take him to court. The statement shows that the removal of Zhan was based entirely on all the shareholders’ decisions.

The statements also detail that Zhan should not talk to Bitmain employees and try to sway them. Bitmain employees have been told to ignore Zhan or they could be faced with legal actions.

The financial news outlet Bloomberg has disclosed that Zhan has filed two lawsuits against the Chinese ASIC manufacturer. The report also alleges that Zhan had a large majority of Bitmain shares and claims to have more than 2X the shares Jihan Wu holds.

The report also noted that Zhan posted a letter in November to his Wechat profile page and explained that he would “restore order” to Bitmain. The cofounder also wrote: “If someone wants war, we’ll give them war.”

At the time, Bloomberg wrote that it was “unclear whether that balance has shifted since.” Even though statements were published on Bitmain’s Weibo page on May 27, it is still uncertain whether or not Zhan has been fully removed from control.

What do you think about the stories about Micree Zhan and Bitmain? Let us know in the comments below.

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