Source: Forbes
With a share offering, Core plans to allocate US$ 350 million to new equipment and infrastructure
Core Scientific, one of the largest cryptocurrency miners in the United States, announced yesterday (21) that it plans to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange in a deal that values it at US$4.3 billion – a sign that the country’s relevance as a center Bitcoin mining is expected to grow as China, a long-time leader in this market, continues to fight the industry.
As part of the deal, which is still subject to shareholder approval, Core will merge with Spac (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) Power & Digital Infrastructure and will allocate approximately US$345 million to new equipment and infrastructure.
The Georgia-based company, which also sells blockchain software and hardware, revealed it expects total revenue of $493 million and adjusted earnings of $203 million this year, followed by $1.1 billion in revenue and earnings. of nearly $600 million by 2022. Under the company’s plans, existing shareholders will retain their stakes, which add up to about 89%, in the merged company.
Core mined 1,683 bitcoins, currently worth about $53 million, in the first half of the year at facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina; a fourth warehouse is under construction in North Dakota.
On Wednesday, Argo Blockchain, another cryptocurrency miner that is already listed on the London Stock Exchange, also announced plans to go public in the US, saying it has filed a confidential prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission with a proposed listing.
The US quickly became the second-largest bitcoin mining center in the world. According to data from the University of Cambridge, nearly 17% of all bitcoin mining takes place in the US, about three times more than a year ago. Meanwhile, China’s share has plummeted from 80% to 45%. That number is expected to continue falling as more provinces announce comprehensive plans to ban cryptocurrency mining to reduce environmental risks. Last week, China’s Anhui province became the last region to ban the practice to help alleviate a power shortage that officials fear will happen in the near future.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen tremendous growth in US mining infrastructure,” said Darin Feinstein, founder of Core Scientific. “We’ve seen a huge increase in mining operations looking to move to North America, particularly the US.”
Billionaire Michael Saylor, a longtime executive at data analytics firm MicroStrategy, praised Core and Argo’s listings in tweets yesterday, saying exchange-traded bitcoin miners will bring “financial capital, engineering facilities and credibility” to the global network of cryptocurrencies and “will enhance bitcoin as an institutional asset.” MicroStrategy has about 92,079 bitcoins, valued at more than $3.2 billion on Wednesday, making it the company with the largest bitcoin investment in the world.
Source: Forbes
