BTC miner Hut 8 merges with US Bitcoin Corp. to weather brutal bear market

BTC block reward miner Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT) is merging with US Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) to form Hut 8 Corp., or New Hut, the two companies have announced.

The two rivals will combine in an all-stock merger, with the new company set to be domiciled in the United States. It will be listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq and is projected to have a market capitalization of $990 million.

The merger “not only accelerates our diversified strategy and positions us for near-term growth, but also establishes us as a strong, U.S.-based player that is ready and able to seize additional opportunities as they arise,” Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton commented.

The new firm will have access to 825 MW of energy across six sites, where it will self-mine, host, and manage infrastructure operations. Of this, 220 MW of hosting infrastructure will be at its King Mountain, Texas site. 680 MW will be in Nebraska and Texas, where USBTC has been hosting and managing BTC mining equipment for clients.

While Canada-based Hut 8 will gain access to cheap power through the merger and expand its presence in the U.S., USBTC will gain a partner with a strong balance sheet at a time when BTC miners have faced their toughest test yet. Some of the biggest players, such as Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZW) and Compute North, have filed for bankruptcy, with others like Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ: ARBK) barely hanging on.

“We are laser-focused on identifying opportunities to capture untapped value across the mining ecosystem,” USBTC founder Asher Genoot commented.

“Together, we will become an exceptional self-mining operator, hosting provider, strategic operator of managed infrastructure, purveyor of high performance computing infrastructure, and industry-leading ASIC repair and sales hub, underpinned by world-class operating technology and IP to drive growth.”

The merger still has to receive the approval of U.S. and Canadian regulators. One of the factors that might come into consideration is USBTC’s longstanding dispute with the residents and local leadership of the City of Niagara Falls in New York.

USBTC has been running a mining operation in Niagara Falls since 2020, reviving a defunct sodium plant. However, it has been embroiled in disputes with residents who claim that the noise produced by the mining rigs is giving them sleepless nights. Many have lodged complaints with the local authorities, claiming that the miners have drowned the roar of the famous waterfalls.

“I get four hours of sleep, maybe, because of that constant noise. I can hear the noise even through the storm windows,” one resident’s complaint reads.

Robert Restaino, the Niagara Falls Mayor, has backed the residents and is among those leading the campaign to have USBTC shut down its site.

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