Australian bitcoin miner Bitcoin Group’s official public float on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) fell significantly short of its goal of raising $20 million AUD. The cryptocurrency miner raised $367,902.20 AUD.
Melbourne-based Bitcoin Group, a miner that has repeatedly attempted to become the world’s first publically floated Bitcoin trading company had the date of closure of its IPO on January 25. The miner offered investors 100 million shares at 20 cents per share, hoping to raise $20 million AUD.
However, the miner’s book building run on the ASX, which ended Monday raised just $367,902.20, as revealed by The Australian .
Bitcoin Group CEO Sam Lee claimed the numbers from the bookbuild does not include application subscriptions sent directly to the register accepting postal applications processed by the company.
Although he did not reveal more about the total amount raised, he told the publication:
We are very happy with the broad spread of new investors and the funds brought to the Bitcoin Group IPO by the ASX bookbuild service.
While blockchain-based startups that are developing distributed ledger solutions for private enterprise and financial institutions gain more investment, bitcoin as a currency has been deemed “a failed experiment” by former core developer Mike Hearn in recent times.
Still, Lee is unperturbed, just as he is with the disappointing float.
“As a bitcoin miner, our success is tied to the future of bitcoin as a currency and as a store of value,” Lee stated while adding that he is a firm believer in the democratizing edge that bitcoin brings to the world economy. One of the goals of the ASX float was to bring accountability and transparency to the Bitcoin space, the publication added.
Bitcoin Group operates five computer centers in China and oversees about 6,000 machines to mine one to two blocks a day (approx. $20,000 USD in today’s rates). A significant portion of the proceeds from the IPO — about $18 million – was tasked to purchase more mining infrastructure to increase the company’s mining power and output.
IPOs in Australia have had a hard time lately with a steep market downturn contributing to a gloomy start to 2016’s IPO market. The tentative listing date to for Bitcoin Group shares start trading was initially scheduled on February 2. That date has now been tentatively pushed back to February 8th.
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