Moore Threads’ Blockbuster IPO Faces Shadow of Decade-Old Crypto Debt Dispute
Just as Moore Threads prepares to make its explosive market debut, a ghost from crypto's past rattles its cage—a ten-year-old debt dispute that refuses to stay buried.
The Unsettled Tab
While investors scramble for shares, court documents reveal unpaid debts tied to early blockchain ventures. The figures? Substantial enough to give underwriters pause. It’s the kind of skeleton that tends to fall out of the closet right when the spotlight gets hottest.
Timing Is Everything—Or Nothing
The IPO charges ahead, but that old crypto ledger doesn’t just vanish. It highlights a classic tech tale: innovate first, reconcile later. Some backers shrug it off as 'legacy noise'; others see a red flag fluttering in the regulatory wind.
What’s a Few Million Between Friends?
Finance veterans will tell you—debts mature, but reputational risk compounds forever. As one fund manager dryly noted over an expensive lunch, 'Nothing spices up a prospectus like unresolved liabilities from the wild west era. It adds… character.'
So the market watches. Will this blockbuster listing power through the fog, or will that decade-old IOU demand its pound of flesh? Place your bets—the opening bell’s about to ring.
Crypto past with OKX founder resurfaces
In an X post, AB Kuai.Dong referenced Feng’s involvement in a 2017 initial coin offering that raised 5,000 ETH alongside controversial angel investor Xue Manzi. Feng allegedly dismissed the Bitcoin loan, stating, “It was just that Xu Mingxing’s investment in me had failed.”
Xu responded to the post with a conciliatory message, writing, “People cannot always remain in the shadow of negative history. Face the future and contribute more positive energy.” He added, “Let the legal system handle the debt issue,” and offered blessings to every entrepreneur.
Feng reportedly partnered with Xue Manzi and Li Xiaolai in 2017 to launch Malego Coin, which was later renamed Alpaca Coin MGD.
The project reportedly raised approximately 5,000 ETH, but it was around this period that China banned ICOs, allowing regulators to crack down on what they viewed as speculative excess and potential fraud in the cryptocurrency sector.
The bitcoin loan dispute appears separate from the ICO controversy. According to sources familiar with the matter, the original loan agreement was dated December 17, 2014, with an expiry of December 16, 2016. It was subsequently renewed on March 30, 2017, with guarantees provided by Hu Zhibin.
Xu previously posted publicly seeking a resolution and pursued legal action in both China and the United States. However, ambiguities due to the classification and legal status of cryptocurrencies at that time meant he never got a meaningful resolution.
Moore Threads touted as China’s semiconductor champion
Moore Threads, founded in 2020 by James Zhang Jianzhong, a former head of Nvidia’s China vice president who spent 14 years at the American chip giant, has positioned itself as a homegrown alternative to foreign GPU suppliers.
The company’s IPO raised RMB 8 billion, around $1.1 billion. It also received regulatory approval in just 88 days, which is significantly faster than the average 470-day timeline for Chinese listings.
Major investors include ByteDance, Tencent, Sequoia China, and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, among others.
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