Chia Network blockchain said on April 14 that it has filed an initial public offering (IPO) proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The size and price range of the offering has yet to be determined, the company said. The proposal was filed confidentially and the announcement was made pursuant to the rules of the Securities Act of 1933, which permit the release of limited information to gauge investor response.
Chia Network is a decentralized smart contract platform that uses a new consensus protocol based on data storage space. It claims that the network consumes less energy than blockchains using proof-of-work consensus and can repurpose worn-out storage hardware. BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen founded Chia Network in 2017. Despite some questions about the network’s green claims, the company raised $61 million in a 2021 funding round that included Andreessen Horowitz, Richmond Global Ventures and other venture capitalists as backers. The company was reportedly valued at $500 million at the time.
Cohen served as Chia Network's CEO until January, when he transitioned to the role of chairman and chief technology officer. Cohen's CEO role will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Gene Hoffman.
Hoffman told Bloomberg at the time of his promotion that the company would file for an IPO "soon," but he didn't expect an IPO this year. "This market will not be open to us," he said. Crypto markets reacted positively to the Chia Network announcement, with the native Chia (XCH) token rising from $40.68 at the start of the U.S. business day to $45.35 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer listed on Nasdaq on April 14, a long-delayed move that has been underway since 2021. Bitdeer shares were down 18% as of 9:33 a.m. ET that day.
