Antalpha is a financial solutions provider in the Bitcoin Mining sector, however, its close ties with mining giant Bitmain disclosed in its prospectus.
Written by: Frank, PANews
Recently, a fintech company named Antalpha submitted its prospectus to Nasdaq, planning to go public with the code "ANTA". Antalpha is a financial solutions provider in the Bitcoin mining sector; however, the close ties disclosed in its prospectus with mining giant Bitmain, as well as the intricate connections of Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, make this IPO full of implications worth exploring. 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
Antalpha was established in 2022, and its official website has limited self-introduction content, only highlighting 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 operational scale and enable them to 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 and monitor collateral positions in near real-time. Its main sources of revenue include two aspects.
The first is supply chain financing, which is reflected in the "technology financing fee", which is the main revenue pillar of Antalpha. Specifically, this includes: mining machine loans, which provide financing for the purchase of bitcoin mining rigs (usually listed mining rigs purchased from Bitmain) and use the purchased mining rigs as collateral. Hashrate loans: Financing mining-related operating costs, such as custody fees, is usually 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 customers' loans are BTC-guaranteed.
In addition to directly providing financing loans, another major business of Antalpha is the Bitcoin loan matching service: this portion of income is reflected as "technology platform fees." Antalpha provides Bitcoin margin loan services for its non-U.S. clients through the Antalpha Prime platform. It is worth noting that the funding for these loans has historically been provided mainly by its affiliate Northstar. In this model, Antalpha acts as a technology and service provider, earning platform fees and not bearing the credit risk of these loans.
Financial data shows that Antalpha's total revenue reached 47.45 million USD in the most recent fiscal year (ending December 31, 2024), a year-on-year increase of 321%. Among this, technology financing fees amounted to 38.7 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 274%; technology platform fees surged to 8.8 million USD, up 859% year-on-year. The company also successfully turned a profit, achieving a net profit of 4.4 million USD, compared to a net loss of 6.6 million USD 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 them, the supply chain loan portfolio (Mining machine loans and computing power loans) issued by Antalpha grew from $344 million at the end of 2023 to $428.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 25%. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin loan scale served for Northstar surged from $220.8 million at the end of 2023 to $1.1987 billion, a staggering year-on-year growth of 443%. In terms of regional distribution, its loan business is highly concentrated in Asia, with 77.4% of the loans (approximately $1.26 billion) flowing to Asian clients by the end of 2024.
Bitmain's "Financial Special Forces"
Antalpha does not shy away from its close relationship with Bitmain in its prospectus, referring to itself as "Bitmain's primary lending partner." The two parties have even signed a memorandum of understanding, stipulating that Bitmain will continue to utilize Antalpha as its financing partner, mutually recommending clients to each other, and that as long as Antalpha offers competitive terms, Bitmain grants Antalpha the right of first refusal to serve its financing clients.
This preemptive purchase right means that Antalpha can have priority access to Bitmain's vast customer base for mining machine purchases, significantly reducing customer acquisition costs and ensuring a continuous flow of business. The prospectus also mentions that Antalpha works closely with Bitmain at all levels, from sales to operations to senior management, and is an indispensable part of Bitmain's sales and business initiation processes.
However, the connection between Antalpha and Bitmain goes beyond just business cooperation. A deeper association is with Bitmain's co-founder Jihan Wu.
The prospectus introduces the complex relationship between Antalpha and Northstar. Historically, Northstar provided nearly all the funding for the 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 originally sister companies, both under a parent company ultimately controlled by the Zhang family.
After the "2024 Reorganization", Antalpha was spun off and transferred to the current listed entity Antalpha Platform Holdings. Subsequently, the original parent company disposed of all its equity in Northstar. Currently, Northstar is owned by an irrevocable trust, with the Zhangke Group as the trustee and beneficiary, managed by a professional trust company. The prospectus emphasizes that the Zhangke Group does not participate in the operations of Northstar.
Despite the restructuring, Northstar remains an important source of funding for Antalpha's Bitcoin lending services. As the ultimate beneficiary of the Northstar trust, Zhang Ketuan's economic interests are still indirectly but significantly linked to Northstar's business performance and even Antalpha's business scale.
Therefore, although the Antalpha platform holding company may legally be separated from the direct control of Zhan Ketuan, from the perspectives of business logic, capital flow, and strategic synergy, Antalpha can still be seen as an important part of Bitmain's financial landscape. It is more like a carefully designed and spun-off "financial special forces" that focuses on providing financial ammunition for Bitmain's mining empire.
The strategic pieces of Bitmain in the post-halving era
The deep strategic significance of Antalpha's listing is closely related to the industry environment and its own strategic adjustments that Bitmain will face after the Bitcoin halving in 2024.
The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 has compressed miners' block rewards as expected, 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 new generation of efficient miners represented by the Antminer S21 series to solidify its leadership position in the mining hardware sector. Procurement agreements for the S21 series miners have been signed with partners such as BitFuFu and Hut8. By continuing to deepen collaborations with large mining farms, Bitmain is striving to secure substantial orders for its latest miners.
On one hand, after the halving, the mining industry has become increasingly competitive. Miners must enhance the performance of their mining machines to maintain their profits, which has significantly raised operational costs. This poses a potential business growth risk for Bitmain in the future. On the other hand, as the price of Bitcoin continues to rise, an increasing number of external companies, including publicly listed ones, have also started to enter the mining industry, bringing new opportunities for Bitmain. However, these opportunities also depend on fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin. Therefore, Antalpha provides loan support for Bitmain's clients to purchase new generation mining machines like the S21. This not only directly promotes Bitmain's sales performance but also indirectly helps the mining community navigate the capital difficulties caused by equipment upgrades.
Antalpha's IPO has also attracted some well-known investors, among them, Tether has expressed interest in subscribing to $25 million of Antalpha's common stock at the offering price. If calculated at the midpoint of the offering price range of $12 per share, this investment would account for approximately 54.1% of the total amount of shares being issued, equivalent to about 2.08 million shares. According to the prospectus, Antalpha's lending business is usually settled in USDT, and this investment is yet another step in Tether's multi-line layout. However, the prospectus also states that this intention "is not a binding purchase agreement or commitment."
In addition, Antalpha mentioned in its prospectus plans to explore financing options for the GPUs needed in the AI space. For Bitmain, Antalpha's ability to expand is also a barbell configuration to resist the risk of uncertainty in the crypto industry. If Antalpha can succeed in new areas such as AI GPU financing, its own growth will also indirectly enhance the resilience of Bitmain's entire ecosystem.
Therefore, Antalpha's IPO is not just a simple listing of a fintech company, but more like a key 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.
The content is for reference only, not a solicitation or offer. No investment, tax, or legal advice provided. See Disclaimer for more risks disclosure.
Antalpha IPO Interpretation: A Key Move in Bitmain's Financial Chess Game?
Written by: Frank, PANews
Recently, a fintech company named Antalpha submitted its prospectus to Nasdaq, planning to go public with the code "ANTA". Antalpha is a financial solutions provider in the Bitcoin mining sector; however, the close ties disclosed in its prospectus with mining giant Bitmain, as well as the intricate connections of Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, make this IPO full of implications worth exploring. 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
Antalpha was established in 2022, and its official website has limited self-introduction content, only highlighting 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 operational scale and enable them to 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 and monitor collateral positions in near real-time. Its main sources of revenue include two aspects.
The first is supply chain financing, which is reflected in the "technology financing fee", which is the main revenue pillar of Antalpha. Specifically, this includes: mining machine loans, which provide financing for the purchase of bitcoin mining rigs (usually listed mining rigs purchased from Bitmain) and use the purchased mining rigs as collateral. Hashrate loans: Financing mining-related operating costs, such as custody fees, is usually 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 customers' loans are BTC-guaranteed.
In addition to directly providing financing loans, another major business of Antalpha is the Bitcoin loan matching service: this portion of income is reflected as "technology platform fees." Antalpha provides Bitcoin margin loan services for its non-U.S. clients through the Antalpha Prime platform. It is worth noting that the funding for these loans has historically been provided mainly by its affiliate Northstar. In this model, Antalpha acts as a technology and service provider, earning platform fees and not bearing the credit risk of these loans.
Financial data shows that Antalpha's total revenue reached 47.45 million USD in the most recent fiscal year (ending December 31, 2024), a year-on-year increase of 321%. Among this, technology financing fees amounted to 38.7 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 274%; technology platform fees surged to 8.8 million USD, up 859% year-on-year. The company also successfully turned a profit, achieving a net profit of 4.4 million USD, compared to a net loss of 6.6 million USD 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 them, the supply chain loan portfolio (Mining machine loans and computing power loans) issued by Antalpha grew from $344 million at the end of 2023 to $428.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 25%. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin loan scale served for Northstar surged from $220.8 million at the end of 2023 to $1.1987 billion, a staggering year-on-year growth of 443%. In terms of regional distribution, its loan business is highly concentrated in Asia, with 77.4% of the loans (approximately $1.26 billion) flowing to Asian clients by the end of 2024.
Bitmain's "Financial Special Forces"
Antalpha does not shy away from its close relationship with Bitmain in its prospectus, referring to itself as "Bitmain's primary lending partner." The two parties have even signed a memorandum of understanding, stipulating that Bitmain will continue to utilize Antalpha as its financing partner, mutually recommending clients to each other, and that as long as Antalpha offers competitive terms, Bitmain grants Antalpha the right of first refusal to serve its financing clients.
This preemptive purchase right means that Antalpha can have priority access to Bitmain's vast customer base for mining machine purchases, significantly reducing customer acquisition costs and ensuring a continuous flow of business. The prospectus also mentions that Antalpha works closely with Bitmain at all levels, from sales to operations to senior management, and is an indispensable part of Bitmain's sales and business initiation processes.
However, the connection between Antalpha and Bitmain goes beyond just business cooperation. A deeper association is with Bitmain's co-founder Jihan Wu.
The prospectus introduces the complex relationship between Antalpha and Northstar. Historically, Northstar provided nearly all the funding for the 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 originally sister companies, both under a parent company ultimately controlled by the Zhang family.
After the "2024 Reorganization", Antalpha was spun off and transferred to the current listed entity Antalpha Platform Holdings. Subsequently, the original parent company disposed of all its equity in Northstar. Currently, Northstar is owned by an irrevocable trust, with the Zhangke Group as the trustee and beneficiary, managed by a professional trust company. The prospectus emphasizes that the Zhangke Group does not participate in the operations of Northstar.
Despite the restructuring, Northstar remains an important source of funding for Antalpha's Bitcoin lending services. As the ultimate beneficiary of the Northstar trust, Zhang Ketuan's economic interests are still indirectly but significantly linked to Northstar's business performance and even Antalpha's business scale.
Therefore, although the Antalpha platform holding company may legally be separated from the direct control of Zhan Ketuan, from the perspectives of business logic, capital flow, and strategic synergy, Antalpha can still be seen as an important part of Bitmain's financial landscape. It is more like a carefully designed and spun-off "financial special forces" that focuses on providing financial ammunition for Bitmain's mining empire.
The strategic pieces of Bitmain in the post-halving era
The deep strategic significance of Antalpha's listing is closely related to the industry environment and its own strategic adjustments that Bitmain will face after the Bitcoin halving in 2024.
The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 has compressed miners' block rewards as expected, 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 new generation of efficient miners represented by the Antminer S21 series to solidify its leadership position in the mining hardware sector. Procurement agreements for the S21 series miners have been signed with partners such as BitFuFu and Hut8. By continuing to deepen collaborations with large mining farms, Bitmain is striving to secure substantial orders for its latest miners.
On one hand, after the halving, the mining industry has become increasingly competitive. Miners must enhance the performance of their mining machines to maintain their profits, which has significantly raised operational costs. This poses a potential business growth risk for Bitmain in the future. On the other hand, as the price of Bitcoin continues to rise, an increasing number of external companies, including publicly listed ones, have also started to enter the mining industry, bringing new opportunities for Bitmain. However, these opportunities also depend on fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin. Therefore, Antalpha provides loan support for Bitmain's clients to purchase new generation mining machines like the S21. This not only directly promotes Bitmain's sales performance but also indirectly helps the mining community navigate the capital difficulties caused by equipment upgrades.
Antalpha's IPO has also attracted some well-known investors, among them, Tether has expressed interest in subscribing to $25 million of Antalpha's common stock at the offering price. If calculated at the midpoint of the offering price range of $12 per share, this investment would account for approximately 54.1% of the total amount of shares being issued, equivalent to about 2.08 million shares. According to the prospectus, Antalpha's lending business is usually settled in USDT, and this investment is yet another step in Tether's multi-line layout. However, the prospectus also states that this intention "is not a binding purchase agreement or commitment."
In addition, Antalpha mentioned in its prospectus plans to explore financing options for the GPUs needed in the AI space. For Bitmain, Antalpha's ability to expand is also a barbell configuration to resist the risk of uncertainty in the crypto industry. If Antalpha can succeed in new areas such as AI GPU financing, its own growth will also indirectly enhance the resilience of Bitmain's entire ecosystem.
Therefore, Antalpha's IPO is not just a simple listing of a fintech company, but more like a key 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.