According to sources, Bitdeer Technologies, a digital currency mining business, has purchased a high-security storage and exhibition facility in Singapore called Le Freeport for $28.4 million for $28.4 million, and Bitdeer chairman Jihan Wu confirmed the acquisition of the vault via text message in response to reports revealing the mining company had purchased Le Freeport.
Bitdeer purchased the maximum security vault Le Freeport from Yves Bouvier of DBS.
After Bitmain Technologies co-founder Jihan Wu left the company, he co-founded a company called Matrixport and is chairman ofBitdeer Technologies. According to a report published by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter, Bitdeer paid S$40 million ($28.4 million) for a maximum security vault known as Le Freeport.
The vault was originally constructedsimilar to the high-security vaults in Luxembourg and Geneva. Freeport has also been called“the Fort Knox of Singapore,It is also referred to as “Singapore’s Fort Knox for art and collectibles.” The Freeport was originally built for S$100 million, and this acquisition by Biddeer has paid off significant debts to creditors, including DBS and the vault’s former owner, Yves Bouvier.
The vault has been for sale since 2017, and this high-security storage facility had many high-profile corporate clients; prior to 2018, luxury auction house Christie’s had more than a third of the Freeport’s storage space.once leasedDeutsche Bank once took advantage ofandFreeport to store more than $8.9 billion in gold bullion.
Bloomberg’s Ranjeetha Pakiam, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, and Zheping Huang detailed that Bouvier and Freeport’s other shareholders “received about S$5 million from the sale.” Sources, however, do not reveal what Bitdeer intends to do with the facility, but after initial reports, Jihan Wu confirmed Freeport’s purchase with the Bloomberg author via text.
Over the past year, Bitdeer has made a number of business moves, including a $25 million investment in a Texas-based facility in May 2021. Five days later, Bitdeerannouncedcloud hosting that allows “retail miners to generate revenue from a single mining machine.”
At the end of June 2021, Bitdeerrevealed its Antbox productand last October, the companyfilecoin mining service. Sources disclosing the latest acquisition of Singapore’s Freeport also detailed that Bitdea is researching an IPO through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction through a blank check company.
Bitdeer is not the only crypto company buying a high-security vault or bunker system. Xapo’s bunkerin the Swiss mountains is truly extravagant, with millionaires reportedly storing their bitcoins there. Last week, it was reported that Arsenal Digital Holdings (OTCMKTS: ADHI), a bitcoin miner, had acquired an underground data center outside of Houston. Some suspect it is the fallout bunker of Westland Oil’s infamous two-story underground campus.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Editorial photo credit: SGPMX