Ebang, a major Chinese Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment supplier, is planning to acquire a financial firm in New Zealand to set up a local digital asset financial service platform.

According to an official announcement on Oct. 14, Ebang International Holdings has entered an Expression of Interest tender letter to acquire a 100% share of an unnamed company. The New Zealand-based firm offers wholesale and generic financial brokerage and wealth management services, the announcement notes.

Ebang representatives emphasized that the potential deal is subject to the “negotiation of a definitive agreement among the relevant parties” while the acquisition is not yet finalized. The firm stated:

“There is no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed transaction will be consummated in time, or at all.”

Ebang CEO Dong Hu said, “Leveraging our longstanding expertise in the blockchain technology and our recent expansions to Singapore, Canada and New Zealand, we have taken a giant stride toward our goal to build a fully-licensed, Internet-based trading platform that provides professional, convenient and innovative trading services.”

Ebang executives did not immediately reply to Cointelegraph’s request to comment on the news.

Ebang went public on Nasdaq in June 2020. The firm wants to set up a wide array of crypto-related services, including crypto mining farms, pools, digital asset financial service platforms and others.