Bitmain’s Mining Firm BitFuFu Set to Go Public in the U.S. via SPAC

Bitmain’s mining firm BitFuFu is making strides towards going public in the United States through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company filed an F-4 form with the SEC to register its securities for the SPAC merger transaction. The filing was declared effective on Wednesday, signaling a significant milestone in the process. BitFuFu aims to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “FUFU” after completing the business combination with Arisz Acquisition Corp., the SPAC involved in the merger. Initially planned for a third-quarter debut with an anticipated enterprise value of $1.5 billion, the public listing has now been pushed back to May due to the need for finalizing the business combination. This delay marks the second extension allowed under Arisz’s governing documents. The decision to delay reflects the challenges faced by crypto firms in seeking public listings in light of heightened regulatory scrutiny and market volatility. BitFuFu, supported by Bitmain’s early backing and key founding team members, offers standardized crypto-mining services. The company’s F-4 filing also revealed strong revenue figures, with $134 million reported in the first half of 2023. BitFuFu’s mining operations yielded 2,253 BTC, with an operating hashrate of 15.2 EH/s as of June 30. Notably, around 80% of the hashing power was sourced from miners leased from Bitmain, underscoring the close relationship between the two entities. As BitFuFu progresses towards its public listing, its affiliation with Bitmain and solid financial performance position it as a significant player in the cryptocurrency mining sector. However, the challenges faced by companies pursuing public listings via SPAC mergers in a volatile market environment are evident in the IPOX SPAC index benchmark performance, which has experienced a decline of 9.04% over the past 12 months.