USBTC to acquire Celsius assets in bid to become major Bitcoin mining company
US Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) plans to become one of the largest miners in the United States by increasing its computing power by 12.2 exahash/second (EH/s). This follows a deal to purchase mining assets from bankrupt lender Celsius, according to a press release. The miner is part of a consortium, called Fahrenheit, that won a bankruptcy auction for the Celsius assets. These assets include a lending portfolio, crypto assets, and 121,800 mining machines. The miner has told CoinDesk that once it brings all the mining rigs online, its fleet will total at least 270,000 mining rigs. This will put its computing power on par with mining giants such as Riot Platforms (RIOT), Core Scientific (CORZ), and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA).
USBTC will enter into one or more operating and services agreements to be the “exclusive operator” of the Celsius mining fleet under the Celsius deal. USBTC will also receive a $15 million annual management fee for the mining assets, net of operating expenses, for the five years it will manage the rigs. The company will receive another $20 million in management fees, which will go to the Fahrenheit consortium. The consortium will receive stock incentives in the new company that will house the Celsius assets. USBTC will also have to build a 100 megawatts (MW) of infrastructure to house the Celsius rigs and provide a plan for the buildout of another 240 MW of capacity in a behind-the-meter site.
USBTC has managed to increase its operational capabilities significantly in the past few months by taking advantage of opportunities that have arisen from bankruptcies. It started from a single site in Niagara Falls, New York, but has now taken control of three sites formerly operated by Compute North, which filed for Chapter 11 in September 2022. Two of those sites are owned by energy investment firm Generate Capital, while the third is a joint venture between USBTC and energy firm NextEra Energy. The Miami-based firm has secured hosting deals for 150,000 machines in its facilities. It is also undergoing a merger with Canada’s Hut 8 Mining (HUT).
Other members of the consortium that will be managing the Celsius assets are Proof Group Capital Management, Steven Kokinos, and Ravi Kaza.
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This article was edited by Aoyon Ashraf.