Bitmain, a renowned manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining rigs, has unveiled its plan to invest $53.9 million in Core Scientific, a bitcoin mining company based in Texas. This strategic investment represents a significant step in their ongoing and mutually beneficial partnership, which is part of a supply contract aimed at expansion. The investment will be structured as a combination of both equity and cash, facilitating the acquisition of new bitcoin mining equipment.
According to the terms of the purchase agreement, Bitmain will provide Core Scientific with 27,000 bitcoin mining servers in exchange for $23.1 million in cash and $53.9 million worth of Core Scientific common stock. The valuation of the company’s stock per share will be determined by a bankruptcy court, aligning with the Chapter 11 reorganization plan. Approval for this plan is anticipated in the fourth quarter of this year, as stated by Core Scientific.
Furthermore, Bitmain has solidified this partnership by entering into a new hosting agreement with Core Scientific. Max Hua, the CEO of Bitmain, expressed his admiration for Core Scientific’s professionalism, integrity, and dedication to their hosting clients and the growth of the Bitcoin Network in the industry.
Proposals for augmenting computational capacity
Core Scientific has outlined its plan to take delivery and activate the 27,000 new units in the fourth quarter of this year. This move is projected to augment its self-mining hash rate by an impressive 4.1 exahashes.
By the conclusion of August, Core Scientific had a comprehensive setup, operating approximately 206,000 bitcoin mining rigs dedicated to both hosting and self-mining. This collective effort contributed to a substantial total hash rate of 22 exahashes per second across its U.S. facilities. Notably, during August alone, Core Scientific managed to self-mine 965 bitcoins, and over the first eight months of the year, it achieved a remarkable production of 9,755 bitcoins. These figures establish it as the leading listed bitcoin miner in North America in terms of production.