That's basic business. The bitcoins the ASICs manufacturers are sitting on is considered it's inventory. Company needs liquid cash to pay employees, taxes, cover their costs, and reinvest the remainder into expanding their business model. That would be EXTREMELY risky/suicidal for the CEO of a BIG ASIC company to try and raise more cash from the VCs (at i'm sure very unfavorable terms) instead of a logical thing, like selling your own inventory at profit. That's just not how businesses works. Sure small guys/solo miners in basement can risk it all, be visionaries and hodl until they make it big or run out of money, but not the big guys. Big guys need stability and to minimize their risks, and stick to their business model. What most likely is happening here is BTC are sold to VCs at a certain locked in rate and VCs are holding the burden of BTCs and the price fluctuation (after all risk management is what they do) and ASIC manufacturer can concentrate on their own business model.
VCs are not there to be nice. And because of their terms should be the last choice when raising capital, after your own capital, then loans from banks, then your last stop is VCs. They're not nice guys who give out free money, more like making a deal with the devil.
did you read my posts ?
did you read this
BitFury founder and CEO Valery Vavilov indicated that the new funding will allow the company to complete production of its 28nm ASIC chip without selling the reserve bitcoins it has mined from its three industrial-scale data centres.
Vavilov told CoinDesk that it decided not to tap its bitcoin reserves as it remains bullish on the long-term value of bitcoin.
"We believe in the long-term perspective [the price of bitcoin] will grow and we decided to not to sell [our bitcoin] at such a low price," Vavilov added.
do you have any idea how much these guys make from selling mining gears alone?
That's awesome so one CEO has enough balls and control to do that. But is it sustainable? How long do you think he can hold out at current prices? What if the market moves against him? How much of a down swing can he absorb before BEING FORCED to start liquidate his core business, dropping funds for R&D, laying off employees etc...? NotLambchop's trolling had some merit, you got to be more skeptical when reading releases from the CEO, their jobs is to paint pretty pictures. With that said i'm a bull, it's natural for supply to dwindle when price goes down hope their profits were good enough so they can hold out.