Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow, who used to work at a competitor to Bitmain, discusses the recent news that the crypto mining manufacturer suffered a $500 million loss in the third quarter of 2018. He talks about possible reasons, including difficulties in selling its most recent miner and its stockpile of Bitcoin Cash, which has dropped more precipitously than Bitcoin during the last year. We also cover the extensive layoffs that the company has undergone in recent months, the shakeup in company leadership and what the prospects are for its IPO filing.

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Episode links:

Samson Mow: https://twitter.com/Excellion

Bitmain: https://bitmain.com

CoinDesk article on Bitmain’s Q3 loss: https://www.coindesk.com/mining-giant-bitmain-posts-500-million-loss-in-ipo-financial-filing

CoinDesk on Bitmain’s original IPO plans: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-unicorn-bitmain-weighs-18-billion-ipo-one-of-worlds-largest

CoinDesk on Bitmain layoffs: https://www.coindesk.com/layoffs-underway-amid-business-adjustments-bitcoin-miner-bitmain-confirms

Dovey Wan on the layoffs: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1076717693087080448

Dovey on Jihan launching a spinoff: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1100002158261428225

Unchained episode on Asia with Dovey Wan and Eric Meltzer of Primitive Ventures: https://unchainedpodcast.com/asia-edition-mining-a-crypto-yuan-and-the-two-main-reasons-the-chinese-are-interested-in-crypto-ep-102/