BIT Mining Limited (BTCM): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at a company like BIT Mining Limited (BTCM), which reported $11.0 million in revenue for the first half of 2025, are you seeing a legacy miner or a forward-thinking infrastructure play? The truth is, this is a company in the middle of a massive strategic pivot, moving from its traditional Bitcoin mining-with a capacity of approximately 347.30 PH/s-to a new focus on the Solana ecosystem, a shift so significant they acquired $7.1 million in SOL for their treasury by mid-2025. That kind of rapid change in a volatile market is defintely a high-stakes move, so understanding the full history, ownership structure, and mechanics of how they actually make money is crucial for any investor.

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) History

You're looking at a company that has executed one of the most dramatic pivots in the public market, moving from a Chinese online lottery operator to a global cryptocurrency infrastructure firm. It's a story of regulatory pressure forcing radical reinvention. The core takeaway is that the entity you know as BIT Mining Limited today is fundamentally different from its origins, culminating in a major strategic shift toward the Solana ecosystem in 2025.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The original entity, 500wan, was established in 2001. This was long before Bitcoin even existed, which is defintely a key piece of context for its later transformation.

Original location

Operations began in Shenzhen, China, focusing on the domestic online lottery market.

Founding team members

The founder of the original company, 500wan (later 500.com Limited), was Man San Law. The current leadership, including Chairman and COO Bo Yu, represents the team that drove the pivot to crypto infrastructure.

Initial capital/funding

While the initial seed funding details are not public, the company secured significant capital through its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2013 under the ticker WBAI, raising approximately $75 million.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's history is less about linear growth and more about two massive, forced transformations. The first was the shift from lottery to crypto, and the second, happening right now, is the shift from Bitcoin mining to the Solana ecosystem.

The most defining change was the deliberate pivot initiated around 2020. China's intense regulatory crackdown on online lottery sales in 2015, and later on cryptocurrency mining, made the original business model untenable. This forced management to sell off non-core assets and fully embrace the volatile, high-growth digital asset sector. It was a survival move, but a smart one.

The 2025 strategic realignment is the latest, most critical move. In July 2025, BIT Mining Limited announced plans to establish a Solana (SOL) treasury of up to $300 million, to be raised in phases. This isn't just a minor adjustment; it's a complete change in focus, leveraging their blockchain infrastructure expertise for staking and ecosystem development, not just proof-of-work mining. Here's the quick math: in the first half of 2025, the company reported revenues of only $11,013,000, down significantly from the prior year, so a new, higher-margin strategy was clearly needed.

• Secured non-Asian infrastructure: The acquisition of a 51% interest in an Ethiopian data center in late 2024, with a second closing in July 2025, provided crucial geographic diversification away from China.
• Shifted capital allocation: The plan to convert existing crypto holdings into SOL tokens and operate validator nodes for staking rewards is a direct response to the increasing difficulty and cost of Bitcoin mining-in March 2025, the cost to self-mine one BTC was approximately $65,831.
• Rebranded for the future: The October 2025 name change to SOLAI Limited and ticker change to SLAI solidifies the company's new identity as a Solana-focused infrastructure player.

This history shows an executive team that is a trend-aware realist, always mapping near-term risks to clear, decisive actions. You can read more about the long-term vision in our deep dive: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of BIT Mining Limited (BTCM).

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Ownership Structure

The ownership structure of BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) is largely dominated by retail and other non-institutional investors, a common characteristic for companies in the volatile digital asset sector. This means that a significant majority of the stock's trading volume and price action is driven by individual investor sentiment, not large institutional block trades.

BIT Mining Limited's Current Status

As of November 2025, BIT Mining Limited is a publicly traded company, with its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Importantly, the company completed a name change to SOLAI Limited and began trading under the new ticker symbol SLAI on October 20, 2025, reflecting a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, specifically the Solana ecosystem. The company's market capitalization was approximately $3.344 billion as of November 14, 2025, with the share price at $2.73. This shift is a defintely major move for a former pure-play crypto miner.

BIT Mining Limited's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership profile shows a low concentration of institutional money, suggesting that the stock is highly susceptible to retail investor sentiment and market-wide crypto trends. Here's the quick math on the breakdown based on the most recent filings:

BIT Mining Limited's Leadership

The leadership team is steering the company through its significant transition from Bitcoin mining to an AI- and Solana-focused technology firm, a shift that requires a new kind of operational expertise. The executive team and board are responsible for executing this strategic pivot, which includes new ventures like the launch of the DOLAI USD-backed stablecoin and joining the Real-World Assets (RWA) Alliance in October 2025.

• Xianfeng Yang: Serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), leading the company's day-to-day operations and the strategic shift toward AI and blockchain.
• Bo Yu: Chairman of the Board, providing high-level oversight and direction, particularly regarding the company's focus on the U.S. market.
• Dr. Heng Henry Lu: Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, bringing an audit committee financial expert perspective to the board, which is crucial for a NYSE-listed foreign private issuer.

To understand the strategic rationale behind these leadership decisions, you should review the company's stated goals: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of BIT Mining Limited (BTCM).

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Mission and Values

BIT Mining Limited's core purpose is rapidly evolving, shifting from traditional Bitcoin mining to becoming a technology-driven infrastructure company focused on the Solana (SOL) ecosystem and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. This strategic pivot, culminating in a planned name change to SOLAI Limited, defines its current mission to drive innovation and create sustainable shareholder value in high-growth blockchain sectors.

Given Company's Core Purpose

You're looking past the quarterly earnings to understand the company's long-term direction, and honestly, that direction changed fundamentally in 2025. The company is repurposing its legacy infrastructure-its data center operations and 7nm ASIC chip design expertise-to support a new, integrated ecosystem centered on high-performance computing (HPC) and the Solana blockchain. This is a massive shift from just mining Bitcoin.

Official mission statement

While a static, formal mission statement is often corporate filler, BIT Mining Limited's actions in 2025 speak volumes about its operative mission: to leverage deep blockchain infrastructure expertise to build an integrated ecosystem centered on SOL treasury operations, staking, and AI applications.

• Transition core business toward Solana treasury operations.
• Drive innovation in AI-native agent transactions and institutional settlement.
• Enhance on-chain efficiency across the Solana ecosystem.

The near-term risk is the cost of this pivot; the company reported a net loss of $13.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, which underscores the financial pressure to execute this new strategy quickly.

Vision statement

The company's vision is to become a leading player in the intersection of AI and blockchain, specifically within the Solana network. This move is a clear attempt to escape the compressing margins of the zero-sum Bitcoin mining game.

• Achieve sustainable growth and deliver lasting value to shareholders.
• Build a robust SOL treasury, with plans to raise between $200 million and $300 million in capital.
• Expand participation across Solana and other blockchain ecosystems.

This vision is already being executed: as of August 2025, BIT Mining Limited had acquired $7.1 million worth of SOL for its treasury and launched a self-operated validator node to generate yield.

For a deeper dive into the numbers behind this strategic shift, you should defintely check out Breaking Down BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company slogan/tagline

The company has not published a formal slogan, but its strategic messaging centers on its new focus. The most accurate tagline reflecting its 2025 pivot is a simple statement of its new identity and ambition.

• From Mining to SOLAI.
• Powering the Next-Gen SOL Ecosystem.
• Blockchain Infrastructure for AI.

Here's the quick math on the need for this change: revenues for the first half of 2025 dropped to $11.0 million, a 43% decline from the $19.4 million reported in the first half of 2024, showing the old model was struggling.

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) How It Works

BIT Mining Limited, which rebranded to SOLAI Limited in October 2025, operates as a technology-driven cryptocurrency infrastructure company, strategically pivoting from traditional Bitcoin mining toward the high-growth Solana (SOL) ecosystem and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company generates revenue primarily through self-mining various cryptocurrencies and providing data center hosting services to other miners, plus the yield from its new Solana-focused treasury and staking operations.

BIT Mining Limited's Product/Service Portfolio

BIT Mining Limited's Operational Framework

The operational framework is a hybrid model, combining proprietary mining with third-party hosting, but it's quickly shifting its capital allocation to the Solana ecosystem. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, total revenue was US$11.0 million, with US$6.4 million coming from the data center business, showing the importance of the hosting revenue stream.

• Infrastructure Footprint: Operates data centers in North America (Ohio, USA) and Africa (Ethiopia), providing geographic diversification. The Ethiopia data center acquisition, where the company holds a 51% equity interest, is a key expansion point.
• Mining Efficiency: The company utilizes its legacy expertise in 7nm ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) design to optimize its self-mining operations, which include a BTC hash rate capacity of approximately 347.30 PH/s.
• Strategic Treasury Management: The new core process involves converting existing crypto holdings into Solana (SOL) and staking it. They already acquired $7.1 million worth of SOL to kickstart this treasury. This is a defintely different approach from most legacy miners.
• Value Creation: Value is generated through three main channels: block rewards from self-mining, recurring fees from data center hosting, and yield from SOL staking and validator node operations.

BIT Mining Limited's Strategic Advantages

BIT Mining Limited's primary advantage is its bold, early pivot to the Solana ecosystem and AI, moving away from the increasingly capital-intensive and less profitable pure-play Bitcoin mining model. This shift is a calculated risk, but it maps to a clear opportunity in high-growth blockchain segments.

• Ecosystem First-Mover: The strategic shift to Solana, rebranding to SOLAI Limited, and the launch of the DOLAI stablecoin position them as an early infrastructure player in a high-throughput blockchain, attracting investors seeking exposure to that specific sector.
• Vertical Integration: Legacy capabilities in 7nm ASIC chip design and mining machine manufacturing provide a deep technical bench, which is being repurposed to optimize the new treasury and staking operations for efficiency.
• Diversified Revenue Model: Unlike single-coin miners, the company maintains a diversified revenue stream from BTC, DOGE/LTC self-mining, data center hosting, and now, stable, on-chain staking rewards, which helps mitigate the volatility of a single cryptocurrency's price or mining difficulty.
• Geographic and Power Diversification: Operating facilities in the US and Ethiopia provides a hedge against regional regulatory or energy cost fluctuations. This helps control the cost of mining, a critical factor when the cost per BTC mined was around $60,960 in February 2025.

To understand the financial implications of this strategic pivot, you should read Breaking Down BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) How It Makes Money

BIT Mining Limited is fundamentally transitioning from a traditional, vertically integrated cryptocurrency mining and data center operator to a technology-driven cryptocurrency asset company focused on the Solana (SOL) ecosystem. The company currently generates revenue primarily through providing data center hosting services and, to a lesser extent, from its self-mining operations, but its future financial engine is being re-engineered around SOL staking rewards and treasury accumulation.

This is a major pivot, so you need to look at the H1 2025 numbers as a snapshot of the old model, not the future one. The old model was struggling, but the new one is an aggressive bet on a single blockchain.

BIT Mining Limited's Revenue Breakdown

For the six months ended June 30, 2025 (H1 2025), BIT Mining Limited reported total revenue of US$11.0 million, a significant drop of 43.3% year-over-year. This revenue was split mainly between its data center business and self-mining operations. The company's strategic shift to Solana is not yet reflected as a primary revenue stream in this historical data, but it is the clear future growth driver.

Business Economics

The core economic challenge for BIT Mining Limited in H1 2025 was the high cost structure of its legacy business, which resulted in a gross loss. The pivot to Solana aims to swap volatile, high-overhead mining economics for the more predictable, lower-overhead model of staking.

• Data Center Pricing: Revenue from the 82.5-megawatt (MW) Ohio Mining Site, which totaled approximately US$6.4 million in service fees in H1 2025, is based on hosting fees. The revenue decline in this segment was directly attributed to offering discounts to retain customers, a sign of competitive pressure in the hosting market.
• Cost of Revenue: The direct cost of revenue for H1 2025 was US$11.0 million, with the bulk of this-approximately US$11.0 million-tied directly to the data center business (primarily energy costs). This means the data center business essentially operated at a break-even on direct costs, before factoring in depreciation and administrative expenses.
• Mining Volatility: The self-mining segment, which produced 17.3 Bitcoin (BTC) and 10.5 million Dogecoin (DOGE) in H1 2025, is highly sensitive to cryptocurrency price and network difficulty. The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 cut the block reward in half, increasing the energy required to mine one Bitcoin to an estimated 854,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) by July 2025, severely compressing margins for all miners.
• Solana Staking Model: The new strategy involves accumulating up to $300 million in SOL tokens and operating validator nodes. This model generates revenue through on-chain staking rewards, which are generally more stable and less energy-intensive than proof-of-work mining. It's a shift from an industrial energy business to a financial asset management and infrastructure service.

BIT Mining Limited's Financial Performance

The company's financial health as of H1 2025 reflects a company in a significant, costly transition, moving away from a business model that was no longer sustainable under current market conditions. You can see the full picture in Breaking Down BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

• Revenue and Loss: Total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2025, were US$11.0 million, down from US$19.4 million in the prior-year period. This revenue decline, coupled with increased operating costs, drove a gross loss of US$5.3 million (compared to a gross profit of US$4.4 million in H1 2024).
• Bottom Line: The company reported a net loss attributable to BIT Mining of US$13.9 million for H1 2025. This is a sharp reversal from the net income of US$18.9 million reported in the same period a year earlier.
• Balance Sheet Health: Total assets decreased from $86.3 million at the end of 2024 to $69.1 million by June 30, 2025. Cash and cash equivalents were tight, standing at only US$1.2 million as of June 30, 2025. This low cash position is the defintely the biggest near-term risk.
• Strategic Investment: As part of the pivot, the company has already acquired $7.1 million worth of SOL tokens for its treasury reserves and launched its self-operated validator node. The success of this new direction is now the single most important factor for future financial performance.

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) Market Position & Future Outlook

BIT Mining Limited is fundamentally repositioning itself from a legacy Bitcoin mining operator to a focused digital infrastructure company, now operating as SOLAI Limited since October 2025. This strategic pivot is a necessary move to capture the high-growth potential in the Solana ecosystem and AI-driven financial services, moving away from the compressed margins of pure-play Bitcoin mining. The company's future hinges on the successful deployment of its $300 million Solana ecosystem expansion strategy.

Competitive Landscape

In its original sector, BIT Mining Limited was a small-cap player in a field dominated by North American giants. The company's competitive position is now defined by its early, aggressive shift into the Solana/AI infrastructure space, rather than its historical, minor share of the global Bitcoin mining hashrate. To be fair, the old business model was obsolete.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's shift is a high-risk, high-reward bet. Its first-half 2025 revenues dropped 43.3% to US$11.0 million, showing the urgent need for a new direction. The new strategy targets a completely different, faster-growing market segment. You can read more about the foundation of this strategy in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of BIT Mining Limited (BTCM).

Industry Position

BIT Mining Limited (now SOLAI Limited) has intentionally left the crowded, low-margin pure-play Bitcoin mining sector, which is facing intense pressure from rising network difficulty and the 2024 halving. The company is now a small but aggressive player in the emerging blockchain infrastructure and high-performance computing (HPC) convergence space. This is defintely a pivot, not a slight adjustment.

• New Niche: Positioned as an early-mover in the Solana ecosystem, focusing on staking, validation, and decentralized finance (DeFi) via its DOLAI stablecoin.
• Financial Headwinds: The reported non-GAAP adjusted net loss of US$13.1 million for H1 2025 shows the legacy business was unsustainable, making the pivot a survival strategy.
• Infrastructure Repurposing: Leveraging existing data center expertise (like the Ohio and Ethiopia sites) to potentially shift from Bitcoin mining to hosting high-performance computing (HPC) or AI workloads, a trend seen across the industry.
• Competitive Differentiation: Unlike competitors like Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, who are primarily diversifying their existing mining operations into AI, SOLAI Limited is making a full-scale platform shift, which gives it a clearer, but riskier, focus.

The company's current market capitalization of approximately $42.76 million reflects its small scale and the high-risk nature of this transformation, but it also signals significant upside potential if the Solana/AI strategy gains traction.