Japan: SBI Holdings Announces Entry into Crypto Mining Chips Business

Japan: SBI Holdings Announces Entry into Crypto Mining Chips Business

Japan-based financial services giant SBI Holdings on March 22, 2019, announced that it has established a new cryptocurrency mining sister company named SBI Mining Chip Co. Ltd. (SBIMC). The newly christened company will manufacture and develop crypto mining chips and mining equipment.

Strong Leadership to Lead the Company

In a bid to expand its footprint in digital asset related businesses, Japan’s SBI Holdings has formed SBIMC to enter the competitive industry of manufacturing energy-efficient crypto mining chips and equipment. This move by the company comes despite the fact that the digital currencies mining business has lost much of its commercial appeal in recent times.

The new company, SBIMC, will be led by former NASA stalwart Adam Traidman who will bring to the table his invaluable expertise in the semiconductors and electronics industry. The company’s official notice reads in part:

“After serving at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Mr. Traidman has developed  his  career  at  Silicon  Valley  as a  serial  entrepreneur  for  over  20  years.  After serving as the CEO of Chip Estimate (Acquired by Cadence Design Systems, Inc. in 2008) and WearSens (Wearable device developer specialized in dietary monitoring), he also serves as CEO of BRD, an investee company of the SBI Group.”

It’s also worthy of note that the new company has partnered with an unnamed “large semiconductor enterprise” to help it develop and manufacture cryptocurrency mining equipment in the U.S.              

Interesting Timing

Mining digital currencies was once considered a lucrative side-business to generate some healthy passive income. However, since the dramatic slump in the price of cryptocurrencies which began towards the end of Q1 2018, the mining business has lost much of its appeal.

The jolt was felt by mining giant Bitmain whose initial public offer (IPO) aspirations suffered a major setback towards the end of 2018. Further, due to the lackluster mining business, the Chinese mining juggernaut on January 13, 2019, suspended all its operations in Texas, where it was supposed to build the largest mining operation in the United States.

In fact, it is not only Bitmain which has faced the brunt of the dull crypto mining business.

BTCManager reported on December 25, 2018, how the Japanese IT firm GMO discontinued their business of manufacturing and selling crypto mining machinery due to challenging market conditions.

Published at Sun, 24 Mar 2019 19:00:57 +0000