Swan Bitcoin Abandons IPO Plans, Shuts Down Mining Unit

Bitcoin investment company Swan Bitcoin has decided to cancel its initial public offering (IPO) plans and will close its managed mining operations.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, CEO Cory Klippsten announced the company is scaling back its increased spending plan for its core financial services business. This rollback includes staff reductions across various departments, though he did not specify the number of job cuts.

“The Swans we’ve had to let go in our staff reduction this week are some of the best Bitcoiners on Earth, and I would gladly work with each and every one of them in the future,” Klippsten said.

Swan Bitcoin’s Expansion and Revenue Growth

In January, Swan revealed it had been developing a Bitcoin mining arm since mid-2023. The company was considering a Series C funding round and aimed to go public within the next year. Klippsten noted that Swan intended to evenly distribute its mining rigs between the US and foreign locations, without disclosing most of the locations. The company’s miners operated at 4.5 exahashes per second (EH/s) with plans to increase this to eight EH/s by March.

Last year, Swan doubled the size of its team and generated over $125 million in annualized revenue.

Challenges Leading to the Abandonment of IPO Plans

Swan’s decision to scrap its IPO plans comes amid a more challenging landscape for miners. The recent Bitcoin halving, which cut block rewards in half, has intensified competition. Additionally, the rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs has drawn investors away from direct mining participation, making it harder for miners to secure funding.

This dual challenge has forced many miners to diversify beyond pure-play mining. Increasingly, they are using their infrastructure to offer services in artificial intelligence and cloud computing to remain profitable.