Crypto Miner CleanSpark Extends Bear-Market Strategy, Buying 20K of Bitmain's Newest Rigs
The Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro+ machines will increase CleanSpark's computing power by 37%.
Feb 16, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/PRT7D7J5DVA5TKL2NQJQCDGCXU.jpg)
Work on CleanSpark's expansion in Washington, Georgia. (CleanSpark)
CleanSpark (CLSK) again took advantage of the distressed state of the crypto mining industry to buy 20,000 new rigs at below-market rates, according to a Thursday press release.
The company said it expects to pay $32.3 million for 20,000 new Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro+ mining rigs, after knocking the price down by 25% with coupons and discounts. That works out at $13.25 per terahash (TH), which is lower than the market price of $15.09 per TH for the S19j Pro+ category recorded on mining firm Luxor Technologies' price index. The price of mining rigs is often measured in dollars per terahash, a measure of computing power, because different machines have different specifications.
The miner started buying assets from rivals struggling to make ends meet during the market downturn as far back as June. Over the past few months, the sector has been hit hard by the slumping price of bitcoin and high energy costs, with major companies including Compute North and Core Scientific (CORZ) ending up in bankruptcy courts. Since the start of 2023, the situation has improved slightly along with energy markets.
Once installed, the new machines will add 2.44 exahash/second (EH/s) to CleanSpark’s 6.6 EH/s of bitcoin mining power, a 37% increase. They will be delivered from the manufacturer to CleanSpark in batches by the end of May. CleanSpark plans to install 15,000 of them in its Washington, Georgia facility, which it acquired from Waha Technologies in August, depending on how an expansion of the site pans out.
CleanSpark plans to reach 16 EH/s of computing power by the end of 2023.
Bitmain released the Antminer S19j Pro+ in December. The model's performance was improved by 10% compared with the previous generation, it said. The manufacturer has been offering coupons and discounts since mid-2022 to boost sales, the coupons have ended up up for sale as companies filed for bankruptcy.
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