Written by: Frank, PANews
Recently, a fintech company named Antalpha submitted a prospectus to Nasdaq, planning to go public under the code 'ANTA.' Antalpha is a financial solutions provider in the Bitcoin mining sector, but the close ties disclosed in its prospectus with mining giant Bitmain, along with the intricate connections to Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, make this IPO full of intriguing implications. Beyond the surface of the fintech company's listing, is this a key step in Bitmain's expansion of its financial landscape?
The 'financial lifeblood' behind Bitcoin mining
Founded in 2022, Antalpha has limited information on its official website, only emphasizing its strategic partnership with Bitmain. According to its prospectus and public information, Antalpha's core business is to provide financing, technology, and risk management solutions for digital asset institutions, especially Bitcoin miners. Its goal is to help miners expand their operations and better manage the impacts of Bitcoin price volatility by providing financing solutions, such as supporting miners' 'HODLing' strategies.
Antalpha's core products and services are primarily realized through its technology platform, Antalpha Prime. This platform allows clients to initiate and manage their digital asset loans while monitoring collateral positions almost in real-time. Its main sources of revenue include two aspects.
First is supply chain financing, which is reflected as 'technology financing fees' and is Antalpha's main revenue pillar. This specifically includes: mining machine loans, which provide financing for purchasing Bitcoin mining machines (usually those listed for sale by Bitmain) and use the purchased mining machines as collateral. Computing power loans: financing for operational costs related to mining (such as hosting fees), with collateral typically being mined Bitcoin. According to data disclosed by Antalpha, as of December 31, 2024, a total of $2.8 billion in loans has been facilitated, of which approximately 97% of supply chain loan clients' loans are BTC-backed.
In addition to directly providing financing loans, another major business of Antalpha is Bitcoin loan matching services, which are reflected as 'technology platform fees.' Antalpha provides Bitcoin margin loan services to its non-U.S. clients through the Antalpha Prime platform. Notably, historically, the funding for these loans has primarily come from its affiliate Northstar. In this model, Antalpha acts as a technology and service provider, earning platform fees without bearing the credit risk of these loans.
Financial data shows that Antalpha's total revenue for the most recent fiscal year (ending December 31, 2024) reached $47.45 million, a year-on-year increase of 321%. Among this, technology financing fees amounted to $38.7 million, up 274% year-on-year; technology platform fees reached $8.8 million, soaring 859% year-on-year. The company also successfully turned a profit, achieving a net profit of $4.4 million, compared to a net loss of $6.6 million in the previous fiscal year.
In terms of loan scale, as of December 31, 2024, Antalpha's total loan book size reached $1.6 billion. Among this, the supply chain loan portfolio issued by Antalpha (mining machine loans and computing power loans) grew from $344 million at the end of 2023 to $428.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 25%. Its Bitcoin loan scale servicing Northstar surged from $220.8 million at the end of 2023 to $1.1987 billion, a staggering year-on-year increase of 443%. Geographically, its loan business is highly concentrated in Asia, with 77.4% of loans (approximately $1.26 billion) flowing to Asian clients as of the end of 2024.
Bitmain's 'Financial Special Forces'
Antalpha does not shy away from its close relationship with Bitmain in its prospectus, calling itself 'Bitmain's primary lending partner.' The two parties have even signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing that Bitmain will continue to use Antalpha as its financing partner, mutually recommending clients to each other, and granting Antalpha the right of first refusal to serve its financing clients, as long as Antalpha provides competitive terms.
This right of first refusal means that Antalpha can gain priority access to Bitmain's large customer base for mining machine purchases, greatly reducing customer acquisition costs and obtaining a continuous flow of business. The prospectus also mentions that Antalpha works closely with Bitmain at every level, from sales to operations to senior management, and is an indispensable part of Bitmain's sales and business initiation processes.
However, Antalpha's connection with Bitmain is not limited to the level of business cooperation. Deeper connections exist with Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu.
The prospectus outlined the complex relationship between Antalpha and Northstar. Historically, Northstar provided almost all the funding for loans issued to Antalpha and offered Bitcoin margin loans to Antalpha's non-U.S. clients through the AntalphaPrime platform. The key point is that Antalpha and Northstar were initially sister companies under a parent company ultimately controlled by Jihan Wu.
After the '2024 restructuring,' Antalpha was spun off and transferred to the current listed entity, Antalpha Platform Holding Company. Subsequently, the original parent company disposed of all its equity in Northstar. Currently, Northstar is owned by an irrevocable trust, of which Jihan Wu is the trustee and beneficiary, managed by a professional trust company. The prospectus emphasizes that Jihan Wu does not participate in the operation of Northstar.
Despite the restructuring, Northstar remains an important funding provider for Antalpha's Bitcoin lending services. Jihan Wu, as the ultimate beneficiary of Northstar Trust, still has an indirect but important connection between his economic interests and Northstar's business performance, as well as Antalpha's business scale.
Thus, although in legal form, Antalpha Platform Holding Company may have been separated from Jihan Wu's direct control, from the perspectives of business logic, capital flow, and strategic synergy, Antalpha can still be regarded as an important part of Bitmain's financial landscape. It is more like a meticulously designed and spun-off 'financial special forces,' focused on providing financial ammunition for Bitmain's mining machine empire.
Bitmain's strategic piece in the post-halving era
The deeper strategic significance of Antalpha's listing is closely related to the industry environment and its own strategic adjustments that Bitmain faces after the 2024 Bitcoin halving.
The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 has timely compressed miners' block rewards, posing a direct challenge to the profitability of the entire mining industry. For Bitmain, this means that market demand for its products will increasingly focus on high efficiency and low power consumption. Over the past year, Bitmain has accelerated the launch of the next generation of efficient mining machines represented by the Antminer S21 series to solidify its leadership position in the mining hardware sector. It has signed procurement agreements for the S21 series mining machines with partners like BitFuFu and Hut8. By continuing to deepen cooperation with large mining farms, Bitmain strives to ensure substantial orders for its latest mining machines.
On one hand, the mining industry has become increasingly competitive after the halving, and miners must enhance the performance of their mining machines to maintain profits, which has significantly raised operating costs. This poses a potential business growth risk for Bitmain in the future. On the other hand, as Bitcoin prices rise, more external companies, even publicly traded ones, are starting to join the mining industry, bringing new opportunities for Bitmain, although these opportunities also depend on fluctuations in Bitcoin prices. Therefore, Antalpha provides loan support for Bitmain's customers to purchase new generation mining machines like the S21. This not only directly boosts Bitmain's sales performance but also indirectly helps miners navigate the capital challenges arising from equipment upgrades.
Antalpha's IPO has also attracted some well-known investors, among them Tether, which expressed interest in subscribing to $25 million of Antalpha common stock at the offering price in this IPO. Calculating based on the midpoint of the offering price range at $12 per share, this investment would account for approximately 54.1% of the total number of shares being offered. According to the prospectus, Antalpha's loan business is typically settled in USDT, and this investment is also another move in Tether's multi-pronged layout; however, the prospectus also states that this intention 'is not a binding purchase agreement or commitment.'
Additionally, Antalpha mentioned in its prospectus plans to explore financing solutions for GPUs required in the AI field. For Bitmain, Antalpha's expansion capabilities also serve as a barbell strategy to mitigate uncertainty risks in the crypto industry. If Antalpha can succeed in new fields like AI GPU financing, its own growth will indirectly strengthen the resilience of Bitmain's entire ecosystem.
Therefore, Antalpha's IPO is not just a simple listing of a fintech company; it is more like a crucial step for Bitmain in the post-halving era to consolidate its mining empire, optimize its financial tools, and reserve strength for its long-term strategic development.
