Bitcoin mining manufacturer can’t pay staff – report

Disappointing sales are behind Beijing-based Bitmain’s decision to furlough employees, local media reports

Bitmain, the world’s biggest producer of hardware designed for mining cryptocurrency, has stopped paying salaries for September and beyond, China’s tech media outlet Leiphone reported on Tuesday, citing many company employees familiar with the matter.

The Beijing-based corporation, which manufactures application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) tuned for the job of mining crypto, has reportedly cut some staff, reduced all “bonuses and incentives” and still has not paid remuneration due since last month.

“For the month of September, the company has yet to achieve a net positive cash flow, especially in the orders of ASICs,” a purported internal Bitmain message reads. “The Executive Management Team therefore decided that salaries for the month of September will be paused, to be reviewed after October 7 after the holiday.”

Founded in 2013, Bitmain holds an estimated 70% market share of ASIC production at peak periods. The company’s Antminer ASIC series currently leads the sector in terms of hash rate computations for mining Bitcoin.

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In August 2022, Bitmain announced a reward scheme for loyal customers who paid for orders placed before the so-called “Crypto winter” that saw prices for common cryptocoins crash and investors cool on the instruments after events like the collapse of FTX and TerraLuna. The company continued to promote a loyalty scheme for long-term customers that offers greater rewards for larger orders.

In 2021, Bitmain announced plans for an initial public offering at a $5-billion valuation by late 2022. However, the ongoing bear crypto market has presumably forced the company to shelve the plan.

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