China’s Bitmain, the top manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, is planning to open an office in Brazil, a company manager has told a local publication. Meanwhile, a US media report claims that Bitmain has moved its Silicon Valley base to a new location.
Citing communications manager William Davidson, Brazilian website Criptomonedas Facil said Bitmain would open an office in Sao Paulo, starting out with a relatively small-scale operation. According to Davidson, the Brazilian office will be offering support and sales of Bitmain’s crypto mining equipment.
Meanwhile, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that the company had rented a large space in the Riverpark office complex in downtown San Jose. Quoting inside sources, the publication said the building had sat empty for years due to the recession but has now been fully occupied, with Bitmain being the last one to rent space there. Previously, the company had offices in another location in the Silicon Valley – Sunnyvale. Bitmain did not respond to the publication’s requests for comments, but other sources said the company had moved in swiftly.
The latest Bitmain moves come just days after it transpired the company is expanding its research and development operations in Israel and is planning to triple the size of its staff there.
Bitmain was established in 2013 and is privately held. However, one of its co-owners, Jihan Wu, recently hinted at the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO), most likely in Hong Kong. The latest analysis estimated the company’s value at around $12 billion after a Series B funding round.
However, Bitmain is not only receiving investments but also making its own. On Tuesday, Cryptovest reported that Bitmain, together with hedge fund investors Peter Thiel, Alan Howard, and Louis Bacon, participated in the latest financing round of Block.one.
Earlier this month, the release of the latest Antminer mining equipment solidified Bitmain’s position as a virtual monopolist in the application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) market.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest