Bitcoin mining giant invests $1.6 million in trading platform

Beijing-based bitcoin mining giant Bitmain has invested $1.6 million in bitcoin data and transaction services provider BitKan.

Bitmain is the sole investor in the Series A round, following an angel round led by Blue Flag Venture Capital last November. Shenzhen-based BitKan provides bitcoin data and pricing services and recently launched an over-the-counter (OTC) bitcoin trading service.

Founded in 2013 by former employees of Chinese IT giant Huawei, BitKan offers Google Play and iTunes apps, and the startup hopes to use its existing reach to encourage trading on the platform.

The company said in a statement that the investment and new trading features represent a formal shift in its business strategy, as it positions itself as a competitor to existing peer-to-peer bitcoin trading services.

The spokesperson told CoinDesk:

“ The new feature has great potential while leveraging BitKan’s existing user base and news and price charting capabilities, as already demonstrated by services with similar functionality, such as LocalBitcoins .”

In addition to producing mining hardware, Bitmain also operates Antpool, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, which has a 28% share of the network hashrate as of press time.

The survey found that Bitmain is increasingly willing to invest in the wider ecosystem, following its participation in a funding round for smart contract platform Rootstock in March and an investment in an Israeli payment service in February.