Argo Blockchain climbs after disappointing market debut

Argo Blockchain, London’s first exchange-listed cryptocurrency miner, rose on Monday – its second day of trade – after sinking more than 20% on its debut on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.

Argo Blockchain founders Mike Edwards and Jonathan Bixby: YouTube

The company raised £25m in its initial public offering – £5m more than expected – as several institutions and high net worth individuals backed the listing.

Institutional investors

Among them were asset managers Miton Capital, Jupiter Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors. Co-founders Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards retained about 13% of the company through their shareholdings.

Bixby commented on the listing: “Argo’s admission to the London main market is a major step in the company’s development and will put us in a strong position to execute our long-term growth strategy.

“We are delighted with the strong response from investors which will enable us to grow our business in multiple jurisdictions.”

Data centre

While Argo is listed and headquartered in London, the company’s main data centre is in Quebec, Canada, where its platform offers customers access to cheap and plentiful hydro-electricity for their energy-intensive mining operations.

The company offers customers four cryptocurrencies to mine: ethereum, ethereum classic, bitcoin gold and zcash, for a monthly subscription fee.

Shares drop

Debuting on Friday at 16p a share, the company was valued at $47m. Shares closed at 12.5p, down 21.9% on the day. On Monday, however, the shares rose 8% in early trade to 13.5p.

Should the shares drop further there will be plenty of support at around 8p a share, however, as those who managed to acquire shares at or below this level are locked in for 12 months.