Bitcoin Miners Eviscerated: Japan's GMO Shuts Down Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Division

GMO Internet, a major Japanese-based technology company, has shuttered its division responsible for designing and manufacturing mining chips.

In a statement released on Dec. 25, GMO explained to investors that the "Increasingly competitive" mining business has resulted in the company cutting its losses.

As recorded, GMO realized total "Extraordinary" losses of $321 million, consisting of both losses from transfers of receivables and impairment losses at $217 million and $104 million respectively.

The firm opened dedicated its mining centers in northern Europe and had only recently introduced the B3 Miner-a sophisticated mining rig equipped with a 7-nanometer chip specialized at solving the complex Bitcoin mining algorithm.

Despite the discontinuation of its crypto miners, the firm stated that its in-house mining operations will continue.

GMO will thoroughly review its revenue structure and relocate its mining centers to a region with "Cleaner and less expensive" power resources.

The statement added that a majority of operating costs were comprised of depreciation costs related to mining machines and electricity cost to maintain a network.

As stated, GMO's mining business recorded total losses of $5.6 million in quarter three of 2018, a period marked with widespread layoffs in crypto-startups and monetary losses for both investors and institutions trading the volatile cryptocurrency markets.

China's promising cryptocurrency mining market is showing signs of a drastic slowdown.

Earlier this year, reports of retailers selling crypto-miners by the kilo and dumping surplus machinery to wastelands served as evidence to an overall low sentiment in the mining sector.