Bitmain nears end of spin-off for Antpool

After months of anticipation, the previously announced spin-off of Antpool from Bitmain is nearing completion.

In a blog post on Tuesday recapping Bitmain’s semi-annual shareholder exchange meeting, the ASIC hardware manufacturer updated shareholders on the “progress of the divestiture of the original Bitmain mining pool brand ‘Antpool.’”

The company’s management advised that it completed all legal matters pertaining to the spin-off by May 1. What remains is further “business sorting,” which they intend to conclude as reasonably possible.

Antpool is currently the largest BTC mining pool by hash rate. Post the spin-off; it will continue to carry out mining pools and other businesses overseas as a standalone entity once it has obtained the support of new shareholders. No further details were provided around the “new” shareholders or structure of the newly formed company.

In January, Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu revealed the complete separation of Antpool from the remaining businesses of Bitmain during his letter to the public recounting the end to the bitter power struggle inside Bitmain between himself and rival co-founder Micree Zhan.

The decision to separate Antpool was part of Bitmain’s ongoing initiative to focus its operations on R&D and sales of computing power chips and servers used for digital currency mining by divesting non-core businesses. It comes months after Bitmain sold mining pool BTC.com to Chinese firm BIT Mining.

The move is a momentous shift for the company and underscores a bigger sea change in how the blockchain sector has evolved and looks to continue changing in the future in the face of Chinese regulators.

Bitmain is a dominant force in the booming blockchain sector that has long held IPO aspirations in either the United States or China. Management hopes these recent changes will help the company finally go public on one of the leading global stock exchanges.

At the same time that Bitmain updated shareholders on the spin-off, it also gave some updated guidance on operating results and business conditions. According to the press release, the shareholders in attendance expressed satisfaction with the strategic pivot and the company’s overall business performance during the first half of the year.

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