Israeli Crypto Miner to Be Delisted From Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Due to Bear Mar

[Pegasus]

Israeli cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfarms will be delisted from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange due to the losses caused by last year’s crypto bear market, local business daily outlet Globes reported on April 1.

Bitfarms — formerly known as Blockchain Mining — reportedly lost $23.1 million in the second half of 2018, while its net profit amounted to only $4.9 million in the first two quarters. The company’s revenue reportedly shrunk by 48 percent in the second half, falling from $22.3 million to $11.5 million.

The firm justified the revenue drop with the price decline of Bitcoin (BTC), as well as 81 percent rise in mining difficulty. Although Bitfarms’ share price climbed by almost 80 percent since the start of last year, it is still 90 percent lower the peak it saw in December 2017.

Last week Bitfarms reportedly filed a preliminary prospectus with the Ontario Securities Commission aiming to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Bitfarms CFO John Rim said that “despite the challenges, through continuous reinvestment of cash flow generated from our operations, careful financial planning and disciplined execution, we were able to achieve many operational growth objectives in 2018.”

In November last year, cryptocurrency markets suffered a sharp drop off not seen in over a year, when Bitcoin slumped below the $5,600 price point for the first time in 2018.

Last December, Cointelegraph reported that cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain decided to close its development center in Israel and lay off local employees, as well as reduce its operations in the Netherlands in January. Gadi Glikberg, head of the Israeli branch and Bitmain vice president of international sales and marketing, linked the closure to the crypto market collapse:

“The crypto market has undergone a shake-up in the past few months, which has forced Bitmain to examine its various activities around the globe and to refocus its business in accordance with the current situation."

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