Bitcoin Miner Producer Ebang Blames Coronavirus for 50% Slump in Revenue

• Total net revenue for the Nasdaq-listed mining equipment manufacturer slumped to $11 million in H1 2020, down 50.6% from $22.35 million made in the same period the year before, per an SEC filing last week.
• In a statement, Ebang chairman and CEO Dong Hu linked the drop in revenue to the pandemic, which had led chip suppliers to reduce capacity and caused a chronic shortage of raw materials that severely disrupted Ebang's business.
• By way of a silver lining, though, while net revenue was far below last year, Ebang saved more than $10 million in operating expenses and losses in H1 2020.
• As per the unaudited financial results, comprehensive net loss fell from nearly $17.6 million in the first half of 2019 to just under $7.3 million in H1 2020
• Hu said the disruption caused by the pandemic meant the Chinese-based company had optimized its revenue structure and started to explore new revenue streams.
• Earlier this year, Ebang announced plans to launch its own offshore crypto exchange, something CFO Chen Lei said could double total revenue by 2022.
• Ebang took $300 million in revenue in 2018, the tail-end of the initial coin offering (ICO) boom.
• Despite the H1 drop in revenue, the market seems to have responded well to Ebang's efforts to diversify: shares were up 2.5% to $9.85 at time of writing, close to double the $5 value at its Nasdaq debut in late June.

See also: Pandemic Will Speed Bitcoin Adoption, Says DBS Bank Economist