9/28 ANDY HOFFMAN (CryptoGoldCentral.com): The Bitmain IPO - Potentially as Impactful as a Bitcoin ETF
Despite the fact Bitcoin doesn’t NEED Wall Street to succeed, a key 2018 meme has been that this is in fact the case. In my view, this mindset has more to do with the bear market mentality that has traders, and HODLers, grasping for straws than the reality of what we saw in 2017, and will again see in the future. Which is, virally spreading demand from ALL investor classes…retail, institutional, and financial.
Clearly, Bitcoin ETFs will be approved – in both the U.S., and other nations. Whether the SolidX/Van Eck fund is approved by the SEC’s new December 29th deadline (that can be extended one more time, to February 27th) remains to be seen; but when it is, it will give a HUGE boost to demand…particularly as the equally mainstream Bakkt crypto exchange is scheduled to launch November 5th. Not to mention, it will open the floodgates for dozens of other Bitcoin - and eventually, other crypto ETFs to be approved worldwide.
However, as I first noted in early August, at the time it first divulged its (extremely ugly) financial situation; if the Bitmain IPO indeed occurs as planned this Fall, it could be the “defining crypto event” of 2018. The reason being, that if the largest Bitcoin-related company goes public (in Hong Kong), it will legitimize the sector just as strongly as a Bitcoin ETF…in Asia, where crypto is far more popular, for now, than the West.
https://twitter.com/Andy_Hoffman_CG/status/1028255686554148865
This is why the crypto sector surged so strongly this week when it was learned that, despite its issues, Bitmain had finally submitted its (438 page) IPO prospectus to the Hong Kong stock exchange; particularly BCash, which surged 20% on the expectation an IPO “bailout” would eliminate the need to dump the million-plus BCH it owns, via the hideous Ponzi scheme IT created.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/26/bitmain-hong-kong-ipo/
https://twitter.com/Andy_Hoffman_CG/status/1045056615571808256
As for the financials, we learned back in August that Bitmain’s Q1 was ugly…but knew Q2 would be much worse, given how much the crypto market plunged in Q1. This week, we saw just how bad, when the 2Q financials were released. However, in typical Bitmain style, they utilized borderline illegal accounting practices to mask their true BCash losses – i.e., they failed to “mark to market.” Not that institutional investors won’t see right through it, but since the company is not yet public, it doesn’t have the same ramifications as if it were…with public shareholders, a board of directors, and exchange regulations and listing requirements.
https://twitter.com/btcking555/status/1045250640430084096
This is why many, including myself, suspect the timing of the filing was this week, BEFORE the end of the third quarter, was no accident. In other words, it couldn’t be more obvious that Bitmain’s filing status – and valuation – could be materially impacted by how it closes out its third quarter books; and thus, why the sudden BCash surge was so well-timed. As well, why there will likely be other BCash-led crypto pumps over the weekend if this logic holds; which, given BCash’s history of manipulative pumps, would seem to be a decent bet.
https://twitter.com/WhalePanda/status/1045280655607828480
Either way, if Bitmain successfully concludes its IPO this month, it could be one of the biggest, most crypto-legitimizing events ever. I believe it will, and expect it to be valued far more than most people expect. And when it does – particularly if accompanied by approval of a Bitcoin ETF, the January 2019 launch of new crypto hedge funds will DWARF the January 2018 launch…that created, in mere weeks, one of the biggest bubbles in financial history.