United States-based Bitcoin (BTC) miner CleanSpark Inc. has announced a strategic agreement that could see it purchase up to 160,000 miners by the end of 2024.
According to a Jan. 8 statement, the firm purchased 60,000 Bitmain S21 units at $16.10 per terahash for $193.2 million. Delivery is expected to take place between April and June 2024.
The company may also exercise a strategic call option to purchase an additional 100,000 machines for $16 per terahash before the end of 2024, it noted.
If all 160,000 miners are installed, CleanSpark expects its hash rate to reach 50 exahashes per second (EH/s) — a 400% increase from its current 10 EH/s.
Today we announced the purchase of 60,000 Bitmain S21 units with delivery expected April through June 2024. The agreement also includes a strategic call option to purchase an additional 100,000 machines at a fixed price of $16.00 per terahash until the end of the calendar year.… pic.twitter.com/LDwHT9ERM1
— CleanSpark Inc. (@CleanSpark_Inc) January 8, 2024
The firm’s CEO, Zachary Bradford, referred to the strategic call option as a “hedge” against rising machine prices in bull markets.
“In the last bull market, machine prices increased by three to five times, and we expect the same to occur in future bull markets,” Bradford said. “We are ready to expand into the next bull market without the need to worry about an increase in machine prices.”
CleanSpark’s CEO said the strategic agreement will allow the firm to manage its capital more efficiently “by controlling as many variables as possible.”
“It also provides us the flexibility to time our infrastructure growth with macro events while providing certainty of cost on the miners.”
Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Platforms and Cipher Mining also recently bought more machines in preparation for the upcoming BTC halving event expected to take place in April.
Related: Marathon, Riot among most overvalued Bitcoin mining stocks: Report
On Jan. 2, CleanSpark reportedly announced plans to launch an in-house trading desk in 2024 to maximize returns from its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings.
The firm recently reported 720 BTC mined in December, increasing its BTC holdings to 3,002, worth $140.9 million at current prices.
CleanSpark’s share price increased 5% to $10.72 on Jan. 8 and is currently up 385% over the last 12 months, according to Google Finance.
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