Bitmain to Provide Financing to Miners in Partnership with Antalpha

ASIC-miner manufacturer Bitmain has struck a strategic partnership with Antalpha to provide financial support to customers in a crypto winter. Bloomberg reports this.

The Singaporean firm will offer Bitmain’s customers “low-interest loans” to reduce their loan costs secured against equipment amounting to around $4 billion.

For risk assessment Antalpha uses data from the manufacturer and the affiliated Antpool pool.

According to Luxor, Bitmain became one of the main beneficiaries of the mining boom in North America after the industry ban in China in 2021. The company’s annual revenue was about $5.6 billion. Often this involved selling on credit secured by the equipment being purchased, whose price collapsed along with Bitcoin.

“The launch of Antalpha’s financial products is a strategic move by Bitmain,” said Luxor CEO Ethan Vera.

Antalpha will also open a renewable credit line for miners who can pay their electricity bills with borrowed funds. The share of one of the main cost items in bitcoin production rose to 40%, Vera noted. According to him, the rate offered by the company at 6.6% per year is about half of what currently exists in the market.

Max Liao, Antalpha’s Chief Development Officer, clarified that the collateral can be the mined bitcoins.

“We take their biggest cash outflow, the cost of electricity, and help ease the burden. This bear market will end someday, and we simply must ensure that everyone can get through the winter,” said Liao.

Antalpha said that some equipment loans will not include a margin call. This will allow miners to delay payments to Bitmain and continue operating the pledged installations.

“Nice move by Bitmain, because even if they finance it and there is a risk of default, the equipment is sold. This is a way to support their needs by directing more capital into their own system,” said Vera.

In June most publicly listed miners began unloading their bitcoin holdings, liquidating 14,600 BTC.

In July the trend continued: miners sold 5,767.9 BTC with a total mined of 3,478 BTC.

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