The 50 Most Interesting Companies In Bitcoin's History: 13/50
Bitmain
The Idea: Design and manufacture ASIC chips purpose-built for Bitcoin mining. Wu discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and raised 100,000 yuan from family to buy 900 BTC. In 2013 he recruited Zhan, who developed the Antminer S1 - Bitmain's first mining rig. Also operates two of the largest mining pools: Antpool and BTC.com, which became part of Bitmain's vertically integrated mining empire.
Early Traction: Bitmain became the dominant force in Bitcoin mining hardware, controlling an estimated 70-80% of the ASIC market at peak. Their Antminer line became synonymous with Bitcoin mining.
Peak Stats: $14.5B valuation. $701M net profit in 2017. Controlled majority of global ASIC market. Antpool and BTC.com together at various points commanded over 40% of Bitcoin's hashrate, raising serious centralization concerns.
Status Today: Active but turbulent. Actively supported Bitcoin Cash over Bitcoin publicly. Rumored to have lost significant Bitcoin holdings on Bitcoin Cash, but never fully supported the fork. Failed Hong Kong IPO in 2019. Still the dominant ASIC manufacturer.
Why It Matters:
Bitmain industrialized Bitcoin mining and vertical integration created one of Bitcoin's most debated centralization risks. Controlling 70-80% of ASIC manufacturing plus two of the top mining pools.