Crypto miners scheduled to go public will probably face some adversity in the next few months as bitcoin sees its price fall, according to a Friday (Jan. 14) CoinDesk report.
The drop in crypto prices could affect Core Scientific, which wants to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition Corp.
In addition, bitcoin miner Rhodium Enterprises is planning an initial public offering (IPO) for almost $2 billion. Bitcoin prices have slumped around 30% since their all-time high from last November, alongside a slow-down in investors and miners going public.
For instance, the report noted that crypto miner Stronghold Digital has fallen over 50% since debuting in October on the Nasdaq. Iris Energy has also fallen by about 50%, while the Gwyneth Paltrow-backed bitcoin miner TeraWulf has fallen since its December trading debut.
In addition, more competition is expected to crop up among miners this year, so investors will be looking into miners’ valuations and growth strategies.
Meanwhile, David Johnston, a crypto entrepreneur and investor, is among the billionaires moving to Puerto Rico for something of a concentration of crypto and blockchain businesses there, CNBC reported Sunday (Jan. 16).
Not only does the U.S. territory offer scenic views, but it also offers big tax breaks to people spending at least 183 days on the island. Residents can also keep their American passports while not spending money on capital gains taxes.
However, Johnston said his biggest reason for moving was the fear of missing out, as many of his friends have moved there.
He said it was similar to how Austin has become a hub for tech work, which might be happening again in Puerto Rico, and he wanted to get in before it gets too over-cluttered.
CNBC noted that there’s been a concentration of crypto-related startups and workers moving to Puerto Rico. One example was Redwood City Ventures, which invests in bitcoin and blockchain companies and has since opened an office in the territory.
“Pantera Capital (a crypto fund) is on the fifth floor and then there’s a co-working space on the sixth floor,” Johnston told CNBC. “My company, DLTx, we took over the eighth floor, and NFT.com took over the twelfth floor. That’s all happened in the last 12 months.”