Is Bitewei Gearing Up to Be Bitmains Biggest Mining Competitor?

In the cryptocurrency mining world, Beijing-based Bitmain has long been on top.

Selling mining equipment to enthusiastic miners netted the company about $2 billion dollars in revenue for Q1 2018. They now have their sights on becoming the first blockchain-focused business to bring in $10 billion in annual revenue.

In August Bitmain announced a $500 million-dollar mining farm in Texas, and leaked information from a pre-IPO investor deck said the company was going public with a valuation of $14 billion. Now, they are reportedly eying an $18 billion dollar IPO despite rumours of poor end of year profit forecasts.

However, some think Bitmain’s market dominance could soon be coming to an end if Bitewei is able to deliver on their promises.

Bitmain vs. Bitewei?  

Bitmain has largely made their name in the industry due to their popular Antminer S9 units, which during the December rally were flying off the shelfs.

However, the company has come under scrutiny due to allegations of insolvency, and many still have questions after investors connected to the purported IPO reportedly denounced interest.

Now, according to CoinDesk, a mining chip manufacturer called Bitewei has been able to raise about $20 million dollars to bring their product to market. Test results published by the company say their Whatsminer M10 is 30% more efficient than Bitmain’s new AntMiner S9 Hydro.

Bitewei leader Yang Zuoxing said there has already been more than 1,000 pre-orders for the Whatsminer M10, which is expected to officially come to market on September 2019.

Some, like Obelisk CEO David Vorick, thinks Bitewei’s work already proves competition to Bitmain is possible. He believes the company has a strong advantage in relation to others in the industry since many people on Yang’s team are well-versed in cutting-edge chip designs.

Can Enthusiasm Carry Bitewei Foreword?

However, others point to Bitmain’s 85% control over the worldwide cryptocurrency hardware market as proof that companies like Bitewei have a long way to go.

Bixin COO Tyler Xiong said it would take a lot of luck for a company like Bitewei to grow to the size and influence already enjoyed by Bitmain, especially since the number of Bitcoins left to mine is just around 4 million.

Both companies have been embroiled in a rivalry for the past few years as executives battle over intellectual property attributed to Yang.

Some reports also speculate Bitmain’s affinity for Bitcoin Cash could be harming their financial flows, and therefore rendering them vulnerable if a competitor were to firmly enter the market. Bitmain reportedly owns 1 million Bitcoin Cash which will be hard to sell at any volume without considerable slippage.