Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems raises $505 million

Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems raised $505 million in a Series C round to accelerate the growth of its mining operations powered by natural gas that is typically burned as a waste product of oil extraction.

The Denver-based company got $350 million in equity financing from G2 Venture Partners and an additional $155 million in credit facilities from SVB Capital, Sparkfund and Generate Capital, according to an announcement on Thursday.

The company currently operates 86 “Digital Flare Mitigation” data centers, which bring energy demand to places where excess natural gas is being flared, like oil drilling operations. It plans to expand them in the US and internationally.

This setup has been touted as a win-win situation. The miners use excess natural gas, in theory reducing methane emissions while generating a profit. Crusoe recently launched a pilot project with oil and gas behemoth Exxon in North Dakota and is considering setting up similar ones in Alaska, Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana and Germany.

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In the market for flare mitigation and modular data center technologies, Crusoe is the “clear leader in scale,” said Ben Kortlang, a partner G2 Venture Partners, in a statement. “This capital will enable Crusoe to deploy Digital Flare Mitigation at greater scale, to use its solution to accelerate renewable energy deployment, and to continue innovating its industry-leading technology,” said Kortlang.

The company will use the money to accelerate the launch of CrusoeCloud, a cloud computing platform that uses “high-performance computing” powered by stranded energy such as flare gas and curtailed renewables, according to the company’s website.

Crusoe currently employs 157 people and plans to expand its workforce to 250 by the end of this year.

Other participants in the funding round include Valor Equity Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Polychain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Founders Fund MCJ Collective, Winklevoss Capital, Zigg Capital, DRW Venture Capital, Atreides Management, Exor Seeds, CMT Digital and Upper90.