Hut 8 Plans $7.5M Offering to Upgrade Bitcoin Mining Rigs

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10 June 2020

Hut 8 Mining is looking to raise at least C$7.5 million (US $5.6 million) to upgrade its fleet of BlockBox bitcoin miners. 

The firm, the biggest cryptocurrency miner in Canada and one of the largest publicly traded miners in the world, seeks to raise the funds through an overnight marketed public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It’s eyeing a common share asking price of C$1.45, substantially above the stock’s $1.20 valuation at market close Wednesday.

Hut 8 wants to use the sale proceeds to buy “the most competitive and efficient chips available on the market” for its fleet of BlockBox miners, said interim Chief Executive Jimmy Vaiopoulos in a press statement.

“The modular and interoperable nature of our BlockBox mining fleet, combined with extensive testing undertaken to ensure compatibility with these new chips, makes Hut 8 well prepared for this upgrade,” he said. 

See also: Hut 8: The Struggles of One of Canada’s Largest Miners

TSX still needs to approve the offering. The common share sale would run through June 25. Hut 8, which is backed by chip manufacturer Bitfury, was first listed on TSX in 2018.

If approved, the common share will allow the struggling Hut 8 – buffeted of late by declining revenues, fears of the halving, which cut the reward for bitcoin miners such as it by half, as well as COVID-19 supply chain concerns – to buy new chips for a portion of its mining fleet.

Hut 8’s revenue has declined in three consecutive quarters.