CleanSpark Secures $100M Bitcoin-Backed Loan

Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark rallied 5% in after-hours trading after announcing on Monday that it had secured a $100M financing deal with institutional-investor focused Coinbase Prime.

The deal sees CleanSpark secure further credit from Coinbase Prime by using a portion of its 13,000 total Bitcoin (BTC) holdings as collateral. It will utilize the capital to scale up its Bitcoin mining ventures, high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities and energy portfolio. 

CleanSpark (CLSK) shares closed Sept. 22 at $13.74, and the price has since gained around 5% to hit $14.44 in after-hours trading following the announcement.

CleanSpark scaling up both Bitcoin mining and computing

A host of major Bitcoin mining firms have announced their pivot to AI over the past few years.

When asked how much of a focus CleanSpark is putting into scaling its HPC and energy focused-ventures in comparison to Bitcoin mining, CleanSpark Chief Business Officer Harry Sudock told Cointelegraph that the company isn’t necessarily looking at things in that kind of way. 

“We’re not really thinking about it in terms of a ratio across the portfolio. What we’re really looking to do is maximize the value of every asset. And so that’s going to start with a comprehensive review of every power contract plot of land and energy relationship that we have contracted today,” he said. 

Sudock emphasized versatility was important for CleanSpark, arguing that this will be the best and most sustainable way for the company to move forward and compete over the coming years. 

“There are portions of our power pipeline that might not be a good fit for Bitcoin mining, but would be a phenomenal fit for high-performance computing. As we get both capabilities well within our skill set, we’re going to be able to have a much larger power portfolio growth opportunity than we would with one capability or the other.”

“Versatility leads to opportunity maximization,” Sudock added. 

CleanSpark rolls on with Bitcoin-backed loans

To date, CleanSpark has snagged roughly $300 million worth of BTC-backed financing from Coinbase Prime as part of its strategic partnership with the company. 

Sudock said the company is currently focused on squeezing all the juice out of its Bitcoin to provide investor value and scale up operations.