Cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfury Group has closed a Series C, $80 million funding round led by EU-based Korelya Capital. The round also included crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital, Lian and Jabre Group, Dentsu Inc., Armat Group and others.
Bitfury is a diversified blockchain company known for its expertise in developing high-performance computing technologies, processing capabilities and advanced blockchain-based solutions for companies and governments, including the development of a blockchain-based land registry in Ukraine.
The funding round will be used by the company to enrich its software and hardware development, as well as explore other technologies that are emerging alongside the blockchain.
“This private placement enables Bitfury to expand our existing areas of focus, including securing the Bitcoin Blockchain, as well as hardware and software development – and broaden our financial strategic options. It also enables us to concentrate on adjacents such as high-performance computing, including emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI),” CCO John Mercurio told Bitcoin Magazine.
Valery Vavilov, CEO and co-founder of Bitfury, said the success of the round was a reflection of the company's achievements and its ability to meet the needs of “adjacent market segments in high-performance computing.”
In correspondence with Bitcoin Magazine, Vavilov stated:
“We are very pleased with our successful private placement, which enables us to expand our work designing ground-breaking blockchain solutions to governments, businesses, and institutions around the world. Strong support from the investor community also allows us to concentrate on adjacent businesses such as high-performance computing, including emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Bitfury made headlines last week when word broke out that the company may be considering going public. When Bitcoin Magazine asked if this private funding changes the prospect of an IPO, Mercurio responded with the following:
“Bitfury is continuously evaluating financing options to support its development strategy, and the IPO is one alternative. But no decision has been made and ultimately it will depend on a number of factors, including the capital markets environment.”
At a time when cryptocurrency miners are being criticized for the energy consumption required to secure public blockchains with high security requirements, Bitfury has made a commitment to using renewable energy. It has also created standard processes for reducing the consumption of energy in its data centers by using immersion cooling technology.
In September 2018, Bitfury announced a bitcoin mining chip called the "Clarke" ASIC chip, which it claims offers the “strongest performance among bitcoin mining chips and is unparalleled in efficiency," via a Medium post. The company also has plans to integrate Clarke into its range of existing mining products and on its mining farms across the world.
In addition to the Clarke chips, the company also launched its latest computing servers dubbed the Bitfury Tardis. Both the chip and the server will be included in the company's product offering, the Bitfury BlockBox, per reports on its release.
Founded in 2011 and recognized as the largest, non-Chinese company that provides hardware for bitcoin mining, Bitfury is also known for pioneering the hybrid algorithm Flare on the Lightning Network, which ensures that payment routes can be found as quickly as possible.