CleanSpark has placed one of the boldest wagers in Bitcoin mining this year, raising $1.15 billion through zero-coupon convertible notes to expand capacity in what has become the most unforgiving mining climate to date.
Key Takeaway:
- CleanSpark raised $1.15B in zero-coupon convertible notes to scale mining and data-center infrastructure.
- Nearly half of the funds will go to a large share buyback, with the rest fueling expansion and debt repayment.
- The raise highlights the new mining reality: only the most efficient, well-capitalized operators can compete post-halving.
- CleanSpark’s strategy increases leverage but positions it to stay dominant as network hashrate continues to grow.
The deal, structured as a 144A private placement maturing in 2032, carries a conversion price nearly 30% above the trading level at announcement — an early signal that buyers are banking on long-term equity upside rather than interest income.
A Raise That Reveals the New Rules of Mining
Almost half of the proceeds — about $460 million — will be used to repurchase CleanSpark shares directly from the same institutions buying the notes. The remaining capital funds land, power infrastructure, mining and data-center buildouts, AI/HPC capacity, repayment of BTC-backed credit lines, and general corporate needs.
The allocation says as much as the raise itself: CleanSpark believes the equity is undervalued, and it also recognizes that survival now requires balance-sheet scale measured in billions, not millions.
The convertible structure highlights a widening divide in the mining sector. Only the most efficient operators with predictable cash flow and access to cheap energy can borrow at zero percent. Smaller miners continue relying on highly dilutive equity or expensive high-yield debt — options that often lead to consolidation or shutdown.
Dilution Risk and the Leverage Equation
Zero-coupon notes are effectively a leveraged bet on both Bitcoin’s trajectory and the company’s execution. If CleanSpark’s stock trades above the $19.16 conversion level, shareholders face dilution. If Bitcoin underperforms or capex returns lag, the converts function as delayed equity issuance tied to weaker fundamentals.
After the buyback, CleanSpark retains roughly $670 million for capex and debt repayment. Given that modern mining infrastructure costs between $6 million and $10 million per exahash, the company could theoretically add 70–110 EH/s of capacity if fully deployed into mining — a massive expansion even in a one-zettahash global network.
CleanSpark ended fiscal Q2 with 42.4 EH/s and aims to surpass 50 EH/s in 2025, about 5% of global hashrate at current levels. But expansion is no longer a luxury — it’s a requirement just to maintain revenue per unit of capacity as network difficulty increases.
Margins Tighten in the Post-Halving Landscape
Revenue rose 62.5% year-over-year to $181.7 million last quarter, but CleanSpark still posted a $138.8 million loss. With a production cost near $42,700 per BTC, the firm sits among the most efficient miners globally. Yet even with Bitcoin near $103,000, energy consumed 46% of revenue, leaving margins heavily exposed to power prices and network growth.
This is the mining reality post-halving: only operators with cheap power, industrial scale, and access to inexpensive capital can stay competitive. Everyone else is fading.
AI: Real Diversification or Just Pitch Deck Gloss?
Part of the funds will support AI and high-performance computing infrastructure — a trend sweeping the mining industry. But unless these facilities secure multi-year, dollar-denominated contracts, AI hosting risks becoming “optional diversification” rather than a reliable revenue engine.
CleanSpark now carries more than $1.7 billion in long-term debt backed by a treasury of roughly 12,100 BTC. The firm is effectively transforming into an infrastructure-backed Bitcoin operator, where scale, power control, and cheap financing determine who lives through the next difficulty cycles.
Mining has institutionalized — and CleanSpark is betting over a billion dollars that it will be on the winning side.
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Source: https://coindoo.com/cleanspark-reloads-with-1-15b-amid-the-toughest-mining-climate-yet/