Argo Blockchain: First Crypto Miner on the LSE

Argo Blockchain is raising GBP 20 million to become the first crypto miner on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The UK listing authority approved their listing on the exchange two weeks ago.

Jonathan Bixby, executive chairman of Argo, said to Business Insider: “A London stock market listing will provide Argo with the profile, credibility and access to global capital to drive our growth and help us establish a leadership position in the long term.”

Argo will set its prices at USD 25 a month which allows a user to join its mining pools to mine Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin Gold (BTG) and Zcash (ZEC). Argo has its headquarters in London but their mining facility is in Quebec which has faced recent ‘unprecedented’ demands of electricity from crypto miners.

Argo cofounder Mike Edwards said, in a statement: “Setting up a computer rig to mine cryptocurrency is challenging, inefficient and expensive. I knew that we had to change the game and democratise the process so that crypto-mining could become a mainstream consumer activity.”

Argo, which provides services for individuals to mine cryptocurrencies, claims it has more than 50,000 customers who want to use its services but currently only have a global staff of 20. However, their main rival, Genesis, has 2 million clients and a waiting list of more than six months.

And, even though Argo is a company focused on cryptocurrencies, customers must pay in fiat money to use their services. On the other hand, Genesis accepts payment in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash and even the meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

The mining market was estimated at USD 610.91 million in 2016 and is forecast to be valued at USD 38.38 billion by 2025. Crypto miners solve computational puzzles to be rewarded with the creation of the next block in the chain which allows them to create a set amount of the currency and send it to their own address.

image by Ahmad Ardity. CC BY 2.0