Bitfury Could Launch Europe’s First Major Crypto IPO, With Potential $3 Billion Valuation

Cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfury is considering an initial public offering in Amsterdam or London as early as 2019. The move would make Bitfury the first major crypto IPO listed in Europe.

The Amsterdam-based blockchain startup could seek a valuation of $3 billion to $5 billion, sources told Bloomberg. The company is speaking with several investment banks to explore its options, including debuting on a Hong Kong exchange.

No final decisions have been made. Bitfury has been making key moves to expand its business, even as the cryptocurrency market remains sluggish.

Bitfury Rival Recently Launched IPO

Bitfury, which launched in 2011 as a bitcoin mining company and maker of crypto-mining gear, has since expanded into blockchain research. It expects to report revenue of $450 million for the last fiscal year.

Last month, Bitfury rolled out a new SHA256 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip that can achieve a hashrate of 120GH/s with a power efficiency of 55mW/GH.

Two days later, Bitfury’s much-larger rival — Bitmain Technologies — unveiled a new 7nm ASIC mining chip for the SHA256 algorithm used by bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and other virtual currencies, as CCN has reported.

With its proposed IPO, Bitfury is following in the footsteps of Bitmain — the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency company. In September 2018, Bitmain filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong with a potential valuation of up to $3 billion.

CNBC Analyst: Coinbase Mulls IPO

Meanwhile, Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, may be preparing to go public, as CCN has reported.

Crypto analyst Ryan NeuNer, who hosts the show “CryptoTrader” on CNBC South Africa, promised to reveal details of Coinbase’s purported IPO soon.

CNBC Cryptotrader exposes details of the Coinbase IPO raise tomorrow on a Cryptotrader exclusive. pic.twitter.com/YG4UOP3ju8

— Ran NeuNer (@cryptomanran) October 25, 2018

“I guess it’s big news!” NeuNer boasted on Twitter.

I guess it’s big news! pic.twitter.com/3RqYxkvGXf

— Ran NeuNer (@cryptomanran) October 26, 2018

As CCN has reported, NeuNer recently predicted that bitcoin prices were “about to explode,” citing bullish market buzz about the near-term possibility of an SEC-approved bitcoin ETF.

Since then, BTC prices have remained generally flat.

In February 2018, Ran Neuner predicted that bitcoin prices would top $50,000 by the end of 2018. So far, that forecast appears unrealistic given current market conditions.

For the record, I am pinning this tweet. Bitcoin will finish 2018 at $50 000.

— Ran NeuNer (@cryptomanran) February 2, 2018

The traditional financial industry has slowly but gradually started recognizing cryptocurrencies as a viable asset class as its mainstream popularity continues to escalate.

The lack of an established regulatory framework has been cited as a key reason for Wall Street’s hesitation in throwing its full support behind the burgeoning market.

That said, there are signs that a sea change afoot. Fidelity Investments, whose assets under management tops $2 trillion, plans to launch a separate company to provide cryptocurrency custody and institutional trade-execution services.

“Our goal is to make digitally-native assets, such as bitcoin, more accessible to investors,” Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson said. “We expect to continue investing and experimenting, over the long-term, with ways to make this emerging asset class easier for our clients to understand and use.”

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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