Gaming company The9 agrees to purchase 26,000 mining machines

The9, a Chinese listed gaming company, has agreed to purchase 26,007 Bitcoin ASIC mining machines, “most of which” have been deployed in Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Gansu. In addition, The9 plans to issue shares to pay for the new machines.

The9 (NCTY), a publicly traded Chinese gaming company, has announced that it has agreed to purchase 26,007 Bitcoin ASIC miners as part of its proposed cryptocurrency mining initiative.

The9 subsidiary N BTC will own and operate the machines, which are expected to have a combined hash power of 549 petahashes per second.

The9 said that "most" of these mining machines have been deployed in Xinjiang, Sichuan and Gansu.

According to the press release, Kong Jianping, a former director of Canaan Inc. (CAN), will also help the Shanghai-based internet company launch and maintain its cryptocurrency mining operations.

The announcement did not reveal details about which machines were purchased or from where, but The9 said it signed five separate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to secure the miners.

The9 will issue shares to pay for the new machines, but did not say how many shares would be issued.

The company's shares rose more than 18% on Monday from Friday's closing price, and are currently trading above $13. (CoinDesk)