* Leading bitcoin equipment makers target Hong Kong floats
* IPO plans come as chip firms report sharp falls in demand
* Bitmain, Canaan and Ebang each targeting IPOs in comingmonths
By Alun John and JulieZhu
HONG KONG, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Three of the world's largestbitcoin mining equipment makers plan to raise billions ofdollars with initial public offerings in Hong Kong, even asother companies report plunging demand for the chips needed tomake bitcoin and a halving in the price of the cryptocurrency.
Soaring cryptocurrency prices last year triggered a boom indemand for specialist mining chips and in developing "mines" -facilities with thousands of machines that create the coins bysolving complex mathematical puzzles.
Yet the U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp said this monththat second-quarter sales to crypto miners totalled just $18million, compared with $100 million expected by analysts.
Nvidia's chief financial officer, Colette Kress, said sheanticipated "no contribution" to revenues from cryptocurrency incoming months. That has raised concerns about the upcoming Hong Konglistings by three Chinese manufacturers of bitcoin miningequipment, Bitmain, Canaan Inc and Ebang International Holdings.
The companies all design high-end computer chips intendedfor mining cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, and sellmining equipment containing the chips. In addition, Bitmainmines cryptocurrencies on its own account. Companies like Nvidiaalso sell specialty chips used for mining.
"The marked decline in the price of bitcoin since the startof the year is likely to weigh on investors' interest in thesecompanies," said Benjamin Quinlan, chief executive of financialservices consultancy Quinlan & Associates.
But, he added, "the fall in the price of bitcoin from itspeaks has not been matched by an equivalent fall in the numbersof people mining it."
Bitcoin is currently trading at $6,699, down 64 percentfrom its December 2017 peak of $18,690. Daily mining revenue was77 percent lower than in December, according to Blockchain.info,a data analytics and wallet provider.
"As the bitcoin price decreases, so does the profitabilityof mining itself, which decreases demand for mining chips andminers," said Wang Leilei, a consultant at financial servicesconsultancy Kapronssia.
It is not just the price of bitcoin that is causing worries.People close to the IPOs said regulatory scrutiny and a patchyperformance by Hong Kong offerings this year were additionalconcerns.
Julian Hosp, president of TenX, a Singapore-based blockchainfirm, has also warned that if coins switch mining algorithms,then the machines designed to mine them would become useless.
"I would be quite wary of investing in these miners," Hospsaid, referring to the equipment makers. "They are not long-termbusinesses and I think they've had their uptrend for now."
READYING IPO SALES PITCHES
Canaan and Ebang filed plans in May and June respectivelyfor floats in Hong Kong, while Bitmain is expected to file itsplans next month for an IPO in which it aims to raise at least$3 billion, sources close to the deal said.
Cryptocurrency trading is a global activity, but Chinesechipmakers have led the way in developing the most efficientmeans to mine the coins.
Bitmain had three quarters of the market for the specialistchips last year, followed by Canaan on 14 percent, according toestimates by analysts at Bernstein.
Ebang is aiming to raise up to $1 billion, according tosources, while Canaan is targeting at least $400 million - downfrom a figure of up to $2 billion touted earlier this year bypeople involved in the deal. While EBang is expected to face Hong Kong's listingcommittee in September - a key approval needed for marketing theIPO - Canaan's offering is taking longer.
Two sources familiar with Canaan's situation said thecompany had not yet fixed a date for a committee appearance, asit worked on clearing up questions from HKEX officials regardingdue diligence done on its prospectus.
A source close to Bitmain'S IPO said the company was awareabout the potential for close regulatory scrutiny.
Bitmain, Canaan and Ebang didn't respond to requests forcomment. A Hong Kong exchange spokesman declined to comment.The bitcoin price slump is leading miners to consider theirIPO sales pitches carefully, with many involved expecting themto push the potential of other uses for their chips.
Both Canaan and Ebang highlight the potential for theirtechnology to be applied to other cutting-edge sectors.
That includes broader development of blockchain applications- the ledger system that underpins bitcoin and which is beingwidely explored by the financial industry - as well asartificial intelligence tools and the forthcoming build-out of5G telecoms networks both within and outside China.
"The mainland government encourages chip design andproduction, as that is a segment of China's market that has beensuffering," said Kapronssia's Wang.
"Bitmain and Canaan chips could also be used for non-bitcoinapplications, like blockchain in general, big data,cybersecurity or AI, which is an advantage for the companies."
(Reporting by Julie Zhu, Alun John, Fiona Lau of IFR, ClareJim, Marius Zaharia, Timothy Chan and Holly Chik in HONG KONG;Additional reporting by Thomas Wilson in TOKYO and Elias Glennin BEIJING; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Philip McClellan)