Bitcoin miner CleanSpark set to double hash rate as halving approaches

CleanSpark Inc. is set to double its hash rate in the first half of 2024 after the Bitcoin miner agreed to purchase four new mining facilities before the reward for mining the cryptocurrency is halved. CleanSpark announced on Feb. 6 that it bought three mining facilities in Mississippi for $19.8 million, which will produce an immediate 2.4 exahashes/ second (EH/s) once the purchase is finalized. The firm also agreed to buy an additional mining facility in Dalton, Georgia for $6.9 million, which will produce 0.8 EH/s. However, that facility is under construction and won’t be ready until April 2024. CleanSpark’s shares saw a 12% gain on the day following its announcement. Combined with the imminent energization of its Sandersville expansion — which is set to add 6 EH/s to the firm’s hash rate — CleanSpark expects its operating hash rate to at least double from 10 EH/s to 20 EH/s during the first half of 2024. The moves come as CleanSpark prepares for the upcoming Bitcoin halving event slated for late April, where the reward for mining a Bitcoin is slashed from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. “[The purchases] improve our operating efficiencies as we prepare for the halving,” said CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford in the announcement.

CleanSpark (CLSK) closed trading on Feb. 6 at $8.70, an over 12% gain on the day and has seen slight gains of under 0.5% in after-hours trading, per Google Finance.

The share prices of two of its competitors, Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Platforms, increased on the day by 2.5% and 4.5%, respectively. CleanSpark shares increased 440% over 2023. CleanSpark underwent a price correction to start 2024 and is currently down 20% year-to-date.