Bitmain Technologies Ltd. is a privately held multinational company, founded in 2013, that designs application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips for cryptocurrency mining. The company is primarily known for its flagship ANTMINER brand of mining hardware and for operating Antpool, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency mining pools. ^{[1] [2]}

History

Bitmain was founded in Beijing, China, in 2013 by Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu. Zhan, the technical lead, designed the company's first product, the ANTMINER S1, which was released in November 2013. The following year, the company launched Antpool, a service allowing miners to pool their computational resources to increase their chances of earning mining rewards. Following the 2014 collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange, many of Bitmain's competitors went out of business, allowing the company to solidify its market position. ^{[3] [2]}

The company grew significantly during the 2017 cryptocurrency bull market, securing a $50 million Series A funding round and establishing itself as the dominant force in the ASIC manufacturing industry. By 2018, Bitmain had become the world's largest designer of cryptocurrency mining ASICs, claiming a market share of 74.5%. That year, it raised over $700 million in a Series B funding round, achieving a valuation of $14.5 billion. However, a subsequent attempt to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange failed amid market volatility and regulatory uncertainty. The company also faced financial difficulties, reporting a loss of approximately $500 million in the third quarter of 2018 and laying off a significant portion of its workforce. ^{[4] [1]}

From 2019 to 2021, the company was embroiled in a public power struggle between its two co-founders. The dispute concluded in January 2021 when Jihan Wu announced he was stepping down from his roles at Bitmain. As part of the settlement, the cloud mining subsidiary Bitdeer and the BTC.com mining pool were spun out from Bitmain, with Wu taking control of the new entities. In June 2021, following a regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency mining by the Chinese government, Bitmain suspended the spot delivery of its mining machines globally to support local prices. ^[2]

In January 2025, Bitmain's AI subsidiary, Sophgo, was placed on the U.S. Department of Commerce's Entity List, restricting its access to U.S. technology. In July 2025, Bitmain announced a major strategic shift with plans to establish its first manufacturing facility in the United States to better serve its largest market and mitigate geopolitical risks. By late 2025, the company pivoted its sales strategy, focusing on selling existing inventory to new investors in Asia, often bundled with managed hosting services and complex financing arrangements. ^{[1] [5] [6]}

Products and Technology

Bitmain's business is centered around the design and sale of high-performance hardware and the operation of related mining services. ^[7]

ANTMINER ASIC Hardware

The company's flagship product line is the ANTMINER series, which consists of ASIC machines designed for mining various cryptocurrencies. These devices are engineered for high hash rates and energy efficiency, a critical metric measured in joules per terahash (J/T). ^[3]

Key models in the ANTMINER series include:

• Antminer S1 (2013): The company's first ASIC miner, which offered a hash rate of 180 gigahashes per second (GH/s). ^[2]
• Antminer S9 (2016): A highly influential model that offered significant improvements in hashing efficiency and became an industry standard. ^[3]
• Antminer E3 (2018): An ASIC miner designed specifically for the EtHash algorithm used by Ethereum prior to its transition to Proof-of-Stake. ^[8]
• Antminer S15 & T15 (2018): The company's first miners built on a 7nm semiconductor process, designed for the SHA256 algorithm. ^[8]
• Antminer S21 Series (2024-2025): A recent generation of miners featuring advanced hydro-cooling technology to improve performance and efficiency. The S21 XP model can reach 270 TH/s at an efficiency of 13.5 J/T. ^[7]
• Antminer S23 Hydro (2025): A flagship liquid-cooled model capable of delivering 580 TH/s at an energy efficiency of 9.5 J/T. ^[5]

Bitmain also produces miners for other algorithms, such as the L11 HU2 for Scrypt-based cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Dogecoin. ^[7]

ANTSPACE Mining Solutions

To support large-scale mining operations, Bitmain offers the ANTSPACE product line, which consists of modular and container-based data center solutions. These products, such as the hydro-cooling ANTSPACE HW5 container, are designed for rapid deployment and can house hundreds of mining units, providing the necessary power and cooling infrastructure. ^[7]

Mining Pools

Bitmain operates Antpool, one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools in the world. Launched in 2014, Antpool allows individual miners to contribute their hash rate to a collective, increasing the probability of successfully mining a block and sharing in the rewards. Between 2021 and 2024, Antpool was estimated to have mined approximately 20% of all Bitcoin blocks. Historically, Bitmain also operated BTC.com, and at their peak, the two pools combined controlled over 50% of the Bitcoin network's total hash rate, raising significant centralization concerns. ^{[2] [3]}

Business Operations and Strategy

Bitmain has consistently held a dominant position in the cryptocurrency mining sector, with its market share for ASIC hardware estimated to be between 70% and 80% in 2025. The company's strategy involves not only hardware manufacturing but also building an integrated ecosystem of services to support its clients. ^[5]

Associated Entities and Ecosystem

Bitmain operates through a network of strategic partners and associated companies that provide a range of services to the mining industry:

• ANTPOOL: The company's core mining pool service.
• ANTALPHA: A digital asset financial services platform that provides financing and lending to institutional mining operations.
• ANTSENTRY: A cloud-based platform for managing and monitoring mining farms.
• BITFUFU: A strategic partner offering cloud mining services, which became publicly listed on NASDAQ in 2024. ^{[7] [2]}

This ecosystem allows Bitmain to facilitate large-scale deals, such as its 2025 sales to Hong Kong-based firms DL Holdings and International Business Settlement Holdings, which involved complex financing structures like convertible bonds and cryptocurrency pledges managed through entities like Antalpha. ^[6]

Strategic Partnerships and Global Operations

Bitmain collaborates with major mining companies globally. In September 2024, it announced a partnership with Hut 8 to co-develop a next-generation liquid-cooled ASIC miner. In 2025, it secured a major deployment deal with American Bitcoin Corp. for miners delivering approximately 14 EH/s of hashrate. The company also provides managed hosting and operational support for its clients through a global network of data centers, with facilities located in the United States, Paraguay, and Oman. ^{[2] [9] [10]}

Corporate Affairs

Founders and Leadership

Bitmain was co-founded by Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu. Wu was a financial analyst before co-founding the company, while Zhan provided the initial technical expertise for the Antminer design. Following a prolonged power struggle, Wu departed the company in 2021. As of 2024, Micree Zhan serves as the CEO of Bitmain. Other key figures include Irene Gao, the company's Global Business Head. ^{[1] [5]}

Financials and IPO Attempts

Bitmain's financial performance has been closely tied to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. The company's 2018 IPO filing revealed significant growth, with revenues rising from $137.3 million in 2015 to $2.5 billion in 2017. In the first half of 2018 alone, it recorded revenues of $2.8 billion with a net profit of $742.7 million. However, the market downturn later that year led to substantial losses. ^[4]

The company has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to go public. Its 2018 application to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lapsed in March 2019, and a subsequent attempt to file for a U.S. IPO also did not proceed. ^[1]

Controversies and Legal Issues

Centralization Concerns

Bitmain has faced persistent criticism from the cryptocurrency community regarding the centralization of mining power. Its dominance in the ASIC hardware market creates a dependency on a single manufacturer for equipment essential to the security of proof-of-work networks. Furthermore, the significant portion of the Bitcoin network's hash rate controlled by Antpool (and formerly BTC.com) has raised concerns about the potential for a 51% attack, where a single entity could theoretically disrupt the network. ^{[3] [2]}

Internal Power Struggle

Between 2019 and 2021, co-founders Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu engaged in a high-profile dispute for control of the company. The conflict involved Zhan's ousting, which he contested through multiple lawsuits in various jurisdictions. The struggle created significant instability until a settlement was reached in January 2021. Upon his departure, Jihan Wu stated that the disagreement had been "finally settled in an amicable and, more importantly, a constructive manner." ^{[1] [2]}

Regulatory and Legal Disputes

Bitmain has been involved in several legal and regulatory challenges.

• U.S. Sanctions: In January 2025, its AI-focused subsidiary, Sophgo, was added to the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List. ^[1]
• National Security Review: In September 2025, a U.S. lawmaker called for a federal review of Bitmain over national security concerns. ^[6]
• Bitcoin Scaling Debate: In 2017, Bitmain was a central figure in the contentious debate over Bitcoin's block size, announcing that its mining pools would run the Segwit2x software proposal. ^[8]
• Lawsuits: The company has faced a number of lawsuits, including a $5 million class-action lawsuit in 2018 alleging that its devices were configured to secretly mine for Bitmain's benefit during setup. It has also been involved in patent disputes and legal conflicts with clients, such as a 2025 bankruptcy case involving its client Orb Energy. ^{[1] [6]}