Shenzhen-listed ICT Company Plans to Invest $155 Million in Microbt Bitcoin Mining Hardware

A Shenzhen-listed information and communications technology (ICT) company ZJBC has plans to invest in the bitcoin mining sector according to a recent announcement. ZJBC says that it aims to spend up to $155 million on Microbt manufactured ASIC mining rigs.

Chinese ICT Firm ZJBC to Invest $155 Million Into Microbt Hardware

A well known firm listed in Shenzhen (SZSE) with $900 million in market capitalization, Zhongjia Bochuang (ZJBC) has partnered with Microbt, according to the company announcement published on March 9th, 2021. ZJBC is an ICT firm and it plans to spend $155 million with Microbt on specialized ASIC mining hardware. Microbt’s Whatsminer bitcoin mining equipment has seen a lot of demand in recent times, and the company’s Whatsminer M30S++ (112TH/s) is the top-performing ASIC on the market today.

Regional reporter Priyeshu Garg says that the firm won’t invest the $155 million all at once. A translation of the announcement says: “The scale for the first year will be no less than 20,000 units with the first batch to be delivered by May 2021 with no less than 2,000 units.” Moreover, Microbt and ZJBC will also dedicate resources to things like artificial intelligence (AI), and edge computing as well. Garg also details that ZJBC’s chairman, Wu Ying, “was one of the main investors in Microbt” back in 2019. Zhongjia Bochuang declared this information with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) on October 28, 2019.

ZJBC Chairman Reportedly an Early Investor in Microbt

The news also follows the recent crypto purchases by the publicly listed Chinese firm Meitu, a company that added bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) to its balance sheet. In 2018, Garg said reports had shown that ZJBC reportedly took in “50 million yuan or around $7.6 million” from bitcoin mining revenue.

ZJBC is one of the rare Chinese companies that are open about its digital currency ventures Garg highlighted. ZJBC’s corporate filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange,” Garg writes. “Showed that just under 3% of its equity is connected to Chinese state capital, showing a direct connection between the Chinese government and bitcoin mining,” the author added.