Bitcoin miner CleanSpark to launch in-house trading desk: Bloomberg

Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark plans to launch an in-house trading desk, according to Bloomberg.

CleanSpark CEO Zachary Bradford told the media outlet that the decision was made due to the large bitcoin balance held by the company. A November mining update shows that the company held 2,575 bitcoin. 

CleanSpark didn’t immediately return a Blockworks request for comment on the move. 

“It just makes financial sense to do it in-house,” Bradford said. He added that more miners may launch trading desks in-house “that way, you can manage it with your own risk profiles and expertise and keep a really close eye on it.”

The Nevada-based miner is a publicly traded company, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker CLSK. Over the past year, the stock is up 428%. 

The move follows similar actions from other miners such as Marathon Digital which sold Bitcoin call options contracts, according to Bloomberg.

But trading desks aren’t the only way for miners to broaden their revenue streams. Some have also pivoted to offer high-performance computing. 

The companies, as Blockworks previously reported, are putting money to work with big machine buys ahead of the bitcoin halving and a potential spot bitcoin ETF approval — or approvals.

Read more: Bitcoin is trading on ETF news, but analysts caution on macro headwinds 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to give potential spot bitcoin ETF issuers an answer by Jan. 10 — which is also the agency’s due date to give Ark/21Shares an answer on its proposal. 

In recent weeks, there’s been a flurry of meetings and filed amendments as issuers race to fill out the nitty gritty details — such as disclosing authorized participants and fees — necessary prior to any potential launches.  

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading around $44,000 after hitting a high not seen in nearly two years on the first day of the year. 

---

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.