Argo Plans to Become First Crypto Miner Listed on the LSE

_{A young crypto mining company wants to get listed on the London Stock Exchange, the third largest stock exchange in the world.}

by Anatol Antonovici, 11 June

Argo Blockchain, a small company that focuses on cryptocurrency mining, plans to become the first crypto firm listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Last month, Argo got the green light from the UK Listing Authority to go public. The company aims to raise 20 million pounds in the listing and hopes to reach a valuation of 40 million pounds.

Argo was founded in 2017 as a company that offers mining as a service. In other words, it rents its computing power for a monthly subscription, so that users could mine cryptocurrencies through a special platform that can be easily accessed from smartphones and computers. As of today, the company has no revenue.

Cryptocurrency mining is the process through which new coins are created and rewarded to miners, who solve complex problems to maintain the blockchain network and validate transactions. Mining is often preferred as a profit-making approach instead of trading.

Argo cofounder Mike Edwards explained why mining as a service is the best alternative: “Setting up a computer rig to mine cryptocurrency is challenging, inefficient and expensive. I knew that we had to change the game and democratize the process so that crypto-mining could become a mainstream consumer activity.”

Edwards’ company is not the first and surely not the last one to provide this kind of service. There are already many well-established mining pools that allow users to share computing power for the process. With Argo, users will have to pay 18 pounds ($25) each month to benefit from its pools. The company allows users to mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin gold, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Zcash. Argo, currently with 20 employees, has a mining center in Quebec, Canada. It plans to expand in Iceland and China as well.

Argo’s executive chairman Jonathan Bixby stated: “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.”

Some say that the listing on the LSE could cause some controversy as cryptocurrencies are often associated with money laundering while mining is associated with pollution.