CleanSpark to Add 60K Mining Rigs With a Massive Call Option

Per the latest announcement by CleanSpark, a NASDAQ-listed institutional crypto miner, new Bitman S21 miners will strengthen their existing fleet. The strategic investment includes 160K machines which could add 32 exahashes per second (EH/s). The initial batch is likely to be delivered by the end of Q2 2024.

Pushing Total Capacity to 50 EH/s

North American companies will get 60K units initially with another call option for 100K miners. Price for the former remains $16.10 per terahash while for the latter, it will be $16 per terahash. If all the call option is exercised, the company will add 40 EH/s, reaching 50 EH/s all in all.

Company CEO Zachary Bradford appeared optimistic for the future, saying that, “We are ready to expand into the next bull market without the need to worry about an increase in machine prices, since the call purchase option acts as a hedge to this risk.”

Furthermore, the company opted for S21 models instead of T21 for better efficiency in operations. Bradford explains that “After receiving initial units, and performing real world testing, we have determined that the S21 is more efficient and better suited for our operations.” Like other crypto miners, CleanSpark is awaiting the halving too.

Bitcoin (BTC) halving will reduce miners’ reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC after April 2024. Analysts are optimistic over the price of the largest cryptocurrency in the market. Speculations range from $100K to a Million dollars. American entrepreneur Arthur Hayes and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood are among those who expect BTC to hit the 1 Million dollar mark.

The asset was trading at a market price of $46,717 at the time of writing, down by 0.57% in a day. During the past 6 months, it gained over 50 percent in value. Approval for the Bitcoin ETF is still a mystery but companies are optimistic.

Consequently, due to both halving and Bitcoin ETF, the community believes it will move to higher levels. Which is why, not to mention mining, crypto miners are extremely active in annexing their mining fleets. Other institutional miners including Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining, and more have ordered mining rigs recently.

Miners Are Building Capacity

Marathon Digital acquired a couple of sites in Texas and Nebraska to beef up their crypto mining operations. The acquisition is likely to deliver an additional 390 megawatts of capacity. Riot Platforms is reportedly developing a site in Navarro County with a capacity of 1 gigawatt; some activists have raised questions over its impact on the environment.

In its December 2023 update, CleanSpark revealed its BTC holding increased from just 228 BTC in 2022 to 3,002 BTC in 2023. Presently, Marathon Digital is the biggest public crypto miner with 15,174 BTC after its latest update. Meanwhile, Riot Platforms still holds the crown for the largest crypto miner in the United States in terms of capacity.

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.