GMO exits crypto mining industry after recording "extraordinary" losses

GMO, the Internet infrastructure firm, announced that it would "no longer develop, manufacture, and sell mining machines" related to cryptocurrencies. This comes after the firm recorded "extraordinary" losses in the fourth quarter of 2018 for their crypto mining business. The firm reported approximately ¥35.5B (~$322M) in losses related to "in-house mining" and hardware development, manufacturing, and sales. In a press release, GMO stated, “after taking into consideration changes in the current business environment, the company expects that it is difficult to recover the carrying amounts of the in-house-mining-related business assets, and therefore, it has been decided to record an extraordinary loss.” GMO first entered the cryptocurrency mining business in September 2017, during the height of the crypto bull market.