Singapore Myanmar Investco (SMI) will develop a cryptocurrency cloud-mining platform with The9, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides.
The mining business is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of the year, subject to regulatory approval, SMI said in an announcement on Friday.
Operations will be hosted in a range of facilities across Canada, U.S., Central Asia and the ASEAN region, and will cover a basket of cryptocurrencies inclusive of bitcoin (BTC), filecoin (FIL) and chia (XCH). This move follows SMI's entering into a subscription agreement with The9 for new shares in SMI, which was announced in June.
SMI also said it reached an agreement with Chinese cloud mining software-as-a-service company Nhash for technical and support services for five years, as well as an option to purchase up to 4,000 crypto mining machines.
Pivoting Businesses
SGX-listed SMI is an investment and management company focused on Myanmar. In June, it announced its intention to pivot to cryptocurrencies, and to diversify its core business to include gaming, digital entertainment and robotics.
Originally an online gaming firm, Nasdaq-listed The9 pivoted into mining in January and started operations the next month. However, it has been facing regulatory headwinds in China, where it operates. Like other miners, The9 has been looking to shift operations abroad.
