BTC miners spend differently — here’s why
Recent announcements from segment players inform the various strategies behind spending capital
Artie Medvedev/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate. Kwanzaa kicks off tomorrow too.
While Santa’s elves worked hard in the holiday lead-up, bitcoin miners were busy raising money for different purposes.
We touched on this phenomenon earlier this month. Bitdeer noted proceeds from its convertible senior notes offering would go toward datacenter expansion and mining rig development. Marathon and Riot Platforms have signaled the route of using raised capital to buy more BTC.
More recent announcements from two other segment players continue to highlight that not all BTC miners agree on the best way to spend the capital they secure.
Less than a week ago, Hut 8 touted its purchase of 990 BTC for $100 million (avg. price of ~$101,710). Two days earlier, CleanSpark CFO Gary Vecchiarelli noted his company was choosing not to pay such a price for BTC.
I followed up with Vecchiarelli. He told me the company is “laser focused on producing bitcoin from our mining operations at a significant discount to the spot price.” The marginal cost to produce each coin last quarter was roughly $36,250, he explained.
The company’s main 2025 growth priority is reaching a hash rate of 50 EH/s as soon as possible, while also growing its digital asset management group to manage its bitcoin treasury (9,297 BTC, as of Nov. 30).
As Hut 8 buys more BTC, Marathon Digital has used capital from convertible notes to boost its BTC holdings to 44,394 BTC, as of Dec. 18.
“We are happy to be different [from] those companies,” Vecchiarelli said, adding that CleanSpark’s healthy margins allow the company to build its balance sheet holdings “in a durable fashion.”
Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot made clear to me the company’s strategic bitcoin reserve is “a complement, not a substitute, to our core operating strategy, which prioritizes disciplined, fundamentals-driven growth.”
The miner doesn’t have explicit price levels at which it would totally rule out buying BTC, Genoot added — but is “extremely sensitive to valuation extremes and [optimizes] for risk-adjusted returns.”
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
- Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
- Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
- Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
- The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
