After CoinDesk revealed the China-based crypto mining giant was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for September, the company has faced a wave of perhaps unprecedented scrutiny. On social media, allegations emerged Bitmain was everything from insolvent to presenting a rosy outlook for its financials, all the while investors linked to the funding effort backed away from the deal. Now it appears Bitmain is facing a new and well-capitalized competitor.
Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Bitewei, a Shenzhen-based mining chip manufacturer led by Yang Zuoxing, the former director of design at Bitmain, has raised 140 million yuan (around $20 million) to bring to market mining chips that long-time mining industry insiders believe could lead it to rival at least one area of Bitmain’s business.
Tyler Xiong, COO of the bitcoin mining pool operator Bixin, which joined Bitewei’s initial investment, told CoinDesk that it believes the company’s Whatsminer line of mining chips to be “a game changer.”
Founded in Shenzhen in July 2016, Bitewei is now considered by some to be the most efficient hardware manufacturer on the market.
According to test results published by Bitewei, the upcoming WhatsMiner M10 is roughly 30 percent more efficient, in terms of electricity consumption than Bitmain’s most recent flagship product the AntMiner S9 Hydro.
Yang told CoinDesk Bitewei has so far received pre-orders of over 1,000 units of Whatsminer M10, a product scheduled to officially launch on September 19, but that started its pre-sale in mid August. With an average price around $1,600 depending on the shipping batch, the new product could already be generating a revenue beyond $1.6 million.
That said, Bitewei admittedly has a long way to go, as IPO materials suggest Bitmain controls 85 percent of the global cryptocurrency mining hardware market. Further, it has a well-developed software-based business, with its BTC.com and Antpool mining pools providing mining tools to 30 percent of the network’s miners.
This large market share is viewed with skepticism by cryptocurrency developers, who believe it conflicts with efforts to open access to cryptocurrency protocols and the digital monetary rewards they create.
As such, the fact that hardware distributors are already selling Whatsminer products has created excitement among those who believe the rise of additional, competitive mining chip providers could benefit the industry while better ensuring its ethos.