Gryphon Digital Mining Ends Plans to Go Public Through Merger With Sphere 3D

The companies agreed to terminate their agreement, which was first announced in June.

By James Rubin

Apr 5, 2022 at 12:39 a.m. UTC

Updated Apr 5, 2022 at 2:28 p.m. UTC

Gryphon Digital Mining and Sphere 3D are terminating their agreement for a reverse merger. (Getty Images)

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

James Rubin

James Rubin is CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.

Follow @@JPRubin23 on Twitter

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

Gryphon Digital Mining, a privately held company focused on mining bitcoin (BTC) using 100% renewable energy, will not be going public via a reverse merger with publicly traded data management firm, Sphere 3D (ANY), the companies announced Monday.

In a statement, Gryphon and Sphere said they had agreed to terminate the agreement "due to changing market conditions, the passage of time, and the relative financial positions of the companies, among other factors."
The companies said they would continue to work together through what they termed a Master Services Agreement, with Gryphon generating "operating income through management of Sphere 3D's mining fleet," and Sphere 3D benefiting from "Gryphon's expertise in mining." Sphere 3D has been expanding its own mining operations and now has 1,000 miners running, the company said in the statement.
Gryphon appointed a new CFO, Brian Chase, who previously worked at Garrison Investment Group and Blackstone Group (BX), said a Tuesday press release.
The deal was announced on June 3 and initially slated to close in the third quarter of 2021. But the companies pushed back that timeframe to the fourth quarter due to a complicated regulatory approval process, and then again to the first quarter of 2022.
Under terms of the agreement, Sphere said that it would have issued 111 million shares to Gryphon shareholders. Gryphon CEO Rob Chang, who previously served as chief financial officer of bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain (RIOT), would have become CEO of the combined company, which would have taken the Gryphon name.
“As a pending shareholder and operating partner of Sphere 3D, we look forward to the mutual success of both companies," Chang said in the Monday statement.
Nasdaq-traded Sphere's share price closed down 1.8% on Monday.

UPDATE (April 5, 13:25 UTC): Adds news about CFO appointment in third bullet.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

James Rubin

James Rubin is CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.

Follow @@JPRubin23 on Twitter

Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.

James Rubin

James Rubin is CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.

Follow @@JPRubin23 on Twitter