Crypto miner Argo Blockchain launches IPO on Nasdaq

Argo Blockchain, the London Stock Exchange-listed crypto mining company, has launched an Initial Public Offering in the United States.

The crypto firm has floated 7,500,000 American Depositary Shares (ADSs), equal to 75,000,000 ordinary shares, on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol ARBK, according to an announcement.

With a last closing price for Argo’s ordinary shares of £1.334, a successful IPO could raise as much as £100 million.

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The company, which currently boasts a market capitalization of £537 million (around $745 million), has been exploring the possibility of a U.S. listing since July.

Argo is currently building out a mining facility in Texas, U.S. with a power capacity of 200 megawatts (MW).

On September 10, the firm announced that it had entered an £18.05 million (around $25 million) loan agreement with Galaxy Digital – using some of the bitcoin it has mined as collateral – to build out the West Texas facility. The new loan was rolled into an existing £14 million (or $20 million) facility – bringing Argo’s outstanding principal to $45 million.

In August, a report from The Boatman Capital Research raised questions about whether Argo had overpaid for the land it acquired for the Texas facility by up to 100 times. But Argo’s CEO Peter Wall defended the transaction in a video posted on Twitter. “We feel like it was a good deal for the project in Texas, because it wasn’t just a land acquisition, it was a project acquisition,” he said.

About Author

Ryan Weeks is deals editor at the The Block, focused on fundraising, M&A and institutional trends in the crypto space, among other things. He is particularly interested in investigative work — so please send tips! Ryan previously worked at Financial News, Dow Jones as a fintech correspondent in London. Prior to that, he wrote for several different publications, including Sifted, AltFi and Wired. Beyond journalism, Ryan is a keen reader and writer. He enjoys all things active, especially running, rugby, climbing and tennis.