Bit Mining raises $50M to take operations out of China

Bit Mining is looking to exit China’s market in response to the recent government crackdown on mining.

Shenzhen-based crypto mining firm, Bit Mining, is raising $50 million to fund an expansion out of the Chinese market.

Announced on July 12, the firm has entered into an agreement with select institutional and accredited investors to raise $50 million through a private placement.

Bit Mining is raising the funds in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on crypto mining in May, noting plans to “acquire additional mining machines, build new data centers,” and expand its infrastructure overseas.

US$50 Million Private Placement! Ready for greater expansion!

— BIT Mining Limited (@BITMining_BTCM) July 13, 2021

Bit Mining is owned by NYSE-listed Chinese lottery service provider 500.com and operates the major mining pool, BTC.com.

As part of the private placement, Bit Mining will offer 100 million Class A ordinary shares at a purchase price of $5.00 per 10 shares.

Each share comes with a warrant that investors can redeem to purchase additional shares in the future. The warrants will have a set term of three years and will be exercisable six months from the date of issuance, with an exercise price of $6.81 per 10 Class A ordinary shares.

New York-based investment bank, H.C. Wainwright & Co., is acting as the sole placement agent for the offering, with the private placement expected to close on July 16.

Related: Former Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu: Regulatory crackdown may be good for crypto

The fallout from China’s mining crackdown has seen numerous Chinese miners eye the state of Texas for its cheap electricity. According to a June 24 article from Nikkei Asia, Bit Mining has plans to invest $26 million into building a 57-megawatt data center in the crypto-friendly state.

Cointelegraph reported on June 22 that Bit Mining successfully delivered its first batch of mining machines to Kazakhstan. The first batch included 320 mining machines with an estimated total hash rate capacity of 18.2 petahash per second (PH/s).

The firm added that a second and third batch totaling 2,600 mining machines would be delivered by July 1.