The number of businesses accepting cryptocurrencies as a legitimate payment continues to grow. And it’s not just Bitcoin, as other digital currencies like Ethereum are also gaining popularity among various corporations. Just last week, Bakkt Holdings, Inc. announced that it is going to offer users and partners the ability to buy, sell, and hold ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network. “At Bakkt, providing flexible opportunities for users to enjoy their digital assets is a top consideration, and adding Ethereum brings a popular and growing cryptocurrency to our roster,” said Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael.
“Bakkt users have already enjoyed the app’s capabilities to leverage bitcoin and we are confident that our addition of Ethereum will be a complement to our growing ecosystem of partners and assets.” Overall, the global cryptocurrency market size is projected to reach USD 4.94 Billion by 2030 while growing at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2030, according to Allied Market Research. AGM Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AGMH), The9 Limited (NASDAQ: NCTY), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), Sphere 3D Corp. (NASDAQ: ANY), Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN)
According to the New York Times, cryptocurrency grew from a digital curiosity into a volatile but widely embraced innovation, and federal regulators are racing to address the potential risks for consumers and financial markets. “Their concerns have only grown as both new and established firms have rushed to find ways to profit from bringing the massive wealth held in cryptocurrency into the traditional financial system through quasi-banking services like interest-bearing accounts and lending,” the Times indicate.
AGM Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AGMH) announced earlier this week breaking news that, “it has won a purchase order (the “Order”) from Code Chain New Continent Limited (“Code Chain” or “CCNC”) (NASDAQ: CCNC), a vertically integrated cryptocurrency miner, for cryptocurrency mining machines.
Pursuant to the Order agreement, AGMH is expected to deliver 10,000 units of 100 TH/S KOI mining machines worth US$65 million in the second half of 2022. This agreement also provides Code Chain with an option to purchase 10,000 additional mining machines.
Mr. Chenjun Li, Co-Chief Executive Officer of AGMH, commented: ‘We are very pleased with this collaboration with Code Chain, and we believe it is a fantastic step forward for both parties. This Order signifies that the quality of our mining equipment is recognized in the industry. This will further strengthen our ability to serve a broad and growing client base. Looking ahead, we will continue to enhance our expertise, technology, and talent to explore business opportunities while helping our clients to innovate and thrive in the evolving cryptocurrency market.’
Mr. Tingjun Yang, Chief Executive Officer of Code Chain, said, ‘Our team is excited to partner with AGMH. The collaboration will provide us with a long-term and stable supply of mining equipment, marking a major milestone in our continued mining expansions.’
The9 Limited (NASDAQ: NCTY) announced back in August that its wholly-owned subsidiary NBTC Limited (“NBTC”) and a Kazakhstan company LGHSTR Ltd. (“LGHSTR”) have signed a non-binding investment memorandum to establish a joint venture in Kazakhstan. According to the investment memorandum, NBTC and LGHSTR will own 51% and 49% of the joint venture respectively. NBTC will control the board of directors of the joint venture. The joint venture plans to invest and build cryptocurrency mining sites with a total capacity of 200MW within two years. NBTC will have the priority to deploy cryptocurrency mining machines owned by NBTC or its partners. When the 200MW mining sites construction is fully completed, taking S19 Antminers as an example, the sites are expected to be able to deploy more than 50,000 S19 Antminers and accommodate about 5EH/s of hash power. The joint venture will also carry out operation and maintenance of cryptocurrency mining machines in Kazakhstan. The joint venture plans to complete the construction of 20MW in September 2021; a total of 100 MW is expected to complete by the end of 2021 cumulatively; and a total of 200MW is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 cumulatively.
Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) announced earlier in June its May production and operational updates, including its unaudited Bitcoin (“BTC”) production for May 2021 and its latest miner delivery status. The Company plans to continue to provide monthly operational updates and unaudited production results through the end of 2021. These updates are intended to keep shareholders informed of Riot’s mining production as it continues to deploy its expanding miner fleet. On May 26th, 2021, Riot announced it completed its previously announced acquisition of Whinstone U.S. (“Whinstone”). Whinstone’s Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, TX is the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, as measured by its 300 MW in developed capacity. The Company announced its plans to immediately commence further development of additional capacity at Whinstone in order to rapidly bring the property to its current capacity of 750 MW. This expansion will be driven by Whinstone’s industry leading development team of over 100 employees.
Sphere 3D Corp. (NASDAQ: ANY) announced this June that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. (“Gryphon”), a privately-held company focused on the mining of bitcoin using renewable energy. Upon completion of the merger, the Company will change its name to Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. The merged company will focus on expanding Gryphon’s digital mining operations and utilize Sphere 3D’s proprietary enterprise solutions to optimize Gryphon’s processes. “Gryphon’s future focus on mining using 100% renewable energy will set the bar for mining companies of the future. We have been engineering GPU-based converged systems for many years and are excited to leverage our experience to enhance the performance of Gryphon’s operations. We believe the merger of the two companies provides an excellent opportunity to create meaningful value for our shareholders,” said Peter Tassiopoulos, Sphere 3D’s Chief Executive Officer.
Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) announced earlier in August that it has received from Mawson Infrastructure Group Inc. (OTCQB: MIGI) (“Mawson”) a purchase order (the “Order”) for 17,352 bitcoin mining machines with an aggregate operating hash power of 1.5EH. According to the terms of the Order, the Company will deliver the latest generations of its Avalon A1166 and A1246 bitcoin mining machines to Mawson’s operations in the U.S. and Australia throughout 2021 and 2022. The Order is in addition to Mawson’s previous order placed earlier this year for 11,760 of the Company’s A1246 bitcoin mining machines with an aggregate operating hash power of 1.05EH. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Mawson is a global digital infrastructure provider with diversified operations across cryptocurrency mining and digital asset management. Mawson currently conducts its bitcoin mining operations in both the U.S. and Australia.
