TORONTO, June 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Hut 8 Mining Corp. (Nasdaq:
HUT) (TSX: HUT) ("Hut 8" or the "Company"), one of North America's largest, innovation-focused
digital asset mining pioneers, supporting open and decentralized
systems since 2018, is pleased to provide the following corporate
update. All dollar figures are in Canadian Dollars unless
otherwise stated.
The Company anticipates expansion of current installed hashrate
of approximately 1.2 Exahash ("EH") to approximately 2.5 – 3.0 EH
by the end of 2021 and to approximately 6 EH by mid-2022. As
a result of near-term hashrate expansion, self-mined Bitcoin held
on balance sheet is expected to grow from approximately 3,806, as
of June 27, 2021 to approximately
5,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2022.
"Our capital raise and concurrent listing on Nasdaq, completed
on June 15, 2021, were transformative
milestones for Hut 8," said Jaime
Leverton, Chief Executive Officer of Hut 8. "The
strength of our balance sheet and our conservative approach to
capital management has set the stage for our ongoing success and
ability to drive long-term shareholder value. We now have 1.2
Exahash in production and ongoing installation of new equipment
puts us on a near-term trajectory to produce an additional 2 – 3
Bitcoin per day by the end of August, on top of our current
production rate of 6.2 – 7.3 Bitcoin per day."
Planned Investments in 2021
Hut 8 plans to use the net proceeds from the offering completed
on June 15, 2021, to fund several
strategic objectives, in addition to general corporate and working
capital:
- Remaining investment into previously announced NVIDIA
cryptocurrency mining processors ("CMPs") and associated Dell
server infrastructure
- Investment in remaining miner deliveries from previously
announced 5,400 MicroBT unit order, via Foundry Digital
- Remaining investment into power purchase agreement ("PPA") with
Validus Power Corp. ("Validus"), as well down-payment associated
build-out of associated 100 MW facility in Alberta
- Opportunistic deals directly with mining hardware vendors.
Machine Installation Update
Hut 8 currently has 1.218 EH in production and is pleased to
announce the installation and deployment of 2,400 of the 5,400
units of Whatsminer M30S Bitcoin mining machines, MicroBT's latest
generation machines, purchased in January
2021.
The Company's US$30 million
purchase of NVIDIA CMPs, announced on March
26, 2021, will add 1600 Gigahash to Hut 8's aggregate
operating rate when fully deployed. NVIDIA has begun the shipping
and assembly process of the 10,000 limited-edition CMPs.
Installation is commencing onsite at Hut 8 facilities in
July 2021 and is currently on track
for full deployment by the end of August. The CMPs will be used to
maintain the Company's commitment to efficiently mine Ethereum and
settle in Bitcoin. We currently estimate a footprint of 2 – 3 MW
for the total fleet and approximately $3,000 cost per mined Bitcoin.
Given current bitcoin network dynamics, these hashrate
installations are expected to increase average production from 6.2
– 7.3 Bitcoin per day to 8 – 10 Bitcoin per day.
Validus PPA and 100 MW Facility Update
Hut 8 continues to collaborate closely with Validus with respect
to both the previously announced PPA, as well as planning and
development activities with respect to the build-out of a 100 MW
facility. The PPA signed with Validus will enable Hut 8 to
initially secure up to 100 MW of new power from an industrial scale
energy generation project on a physical off-take basis. The
PPA includes a $25 million rate
paydown investment (the first $15
million milestone payment was made in April 2021), which will result in a power rate of
$0.0274/kWh subject to an annual
adjustment mechanism. We anticipate the initial 35 MW portion of
the facility to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Bitcoin Network Difficulty Update
In order to target a new block being mined approximately every
10 minutes, network difficulty dropped approximately 5% on
June 13, 2021, a modest decrease
stemming from early miner shut-downs in China. Given the
subsequent and ongoing exodus of miners in China, significant further reduction in
network difficulty is anticipated on July 1,
2021, in the range of 18-20%. It is preliminary to
conclude with respect to impact on the Company's average daily
self-mined Bitcoin, but the anticipated reduction in network
difficulty will favourably impact Hut 8's existing mining
operations.
Management and the Board of Directors of Hut 8 reiterate the
favourable geopolitical environment afforded the Company, being
based entirely in Canada.
About Hut 8:
Hut 8 is one of North America's
largest innovation-focused digital asset miners, supporting open
and decentralized systems since 2018. Located in energy rich
Alberta, Canada, Hut 8 has one of
the highest installed capacity rates in the industry and holds more
self-mined Bitcoin than any crypto miner or publicly traded company
globally. Hut 8 is executing on its commitment to mining and
holding Bitcoin and has a diversified business and revenue strategy
to grow and protect shareholder value regardless of Bitcoin's
market direction. The Company's multi-pronged business strategy
includes profitable digital asset mining, white-label high
performance compute hosting, as well as yield & income programs
leveraging its Bitcoin held in reserve. Having demonstrated rapid
growth and a stellar balance sheet, Hut 8 was the first publicly
traded miner on the TSX and the first Canadian miner to be listed
on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Hut 8's team of
business-building technologists are believers in decentralized
systems, stewards of powerful industry-leading solutions, and
drivers of innovation in digital asset mining and high-performance
computing, with a focus on ESG. Through innovation, imagination,
and passion, Hut 8 is helping to define the digital asset
revolution to create value and positive impacts for its
shareholders and generations to come.
SOURCE Hut 8 Mining Corp