World’s Bitcoin Mining Behemoth Opens Mega Office in Silicon Valley

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World’s Bitcoin Mining Behemoth Opens Mega Office in Silicon Valley
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While some are busy predicting the crash of the entire cryptocurrency industry, some other forward thinkers and innovators are making the most of the opportunities in the nascent digital assets space.
In the latest development, China-based bitcoin mining heavyweights and ASIC chips manufacturer Bitmain has opened an office in Silicon Valley as part of preparations for its upcoming initial public offer (IPO).
According to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, the firm has packed into the 20,000 square foot office space in San Jose, CA.
Even with the recent cryptocurrency market downturn, Bitmain has maintained a steady growth.
Back in February, the firm announced it generated more than $2 billion through sales of its bitcoin mining equipment in 2017, with profits of more than $360 million.
While the above figures may seem staggering for a crypto-linked business, it, however, becomes much more understandable when we consider the massive demand for ASIC miners last year, fueled by the crazy surge of the price of bitcoin to $20K.
Earlier in January 2018, the firm announced the release of the highly functional and power efficient Antminer S9.
“Releasing new batch of Antminer S9 at 11 AM tomorrow (16 Jan, GMT +8). Can’t make it? We will release the same batch at 5 PM (16 Jan, GMT +8). Order while the batch lasts! USD wire transfers and BCH payments accepted,” Bitmain tweeted at the time.
Interestingly, in July, reports emerged that Bitmain’s valuation has skyrocketed to $12 billion after its hugely successful Series B funding round that generated about $400 million.
Although the many firms did not participate in the funding, two firms – Sequoia Capital and EDBI of Singapore, pumped vast sums into the venture.
Also, its worthy of note that Bitmain now has a considerable stake in Opera Ltd, the makers of the popular Opera browser, as it participated in the company’s recent funding round.
While Bitmain is busy aiming for the moon, it has also come under sharp criticisms in recent times as a result of its dominance of the bitcoin network, with more than 40 percent control of the entire network hashrate.