BTC miner CleanSpark expands operations in Mississippi

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Publicly traded BTC block reward miner CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) has expanded its operations by acquiring two new mining sites in Mississippi amid a significant dip in BTC mining profitability.

The miner announced that it had acquired the new sites in Clinton, Mississippi, for a total of $5.8 million. The two are not yet complete, with the company estimating that construction will be complete before the end of the year.

Once complete, the sites will host Bitmain’s S21 pro miners with an operating hash rate of 1 exahashes per second (EH/s). 

“Including today’s announcement, our operational capacity has soared over the last seven days totaling 211.5 MW of new capacity. That’s an increase of nearly 38 percent, which will not only support our target of 37 EH/s by the end of 2024, but also our target of 50 EH/s in 2025,” CEO Zach Bradford commented.

The new acquisition came barely a week after a similar expansion in Tennessee. CleanSpark revealed that it had agreed to purchase seven facilities in Knoxville for $27.5 million. These new facilities will be equipped with the S21s and will boost its hash rate by 22%, the company added.

This expansion into Tennessee pits the company against locals who have campaigned against BTC miners, who they allege are driving people out of their homes due to noise pollution.

It’s not a new clash, however. Local communities have revolted against the construction of BTC mining operations in residential neighborhoods for years. While in Tennessee it’s the noise that has sparked the opposition, in other places like Norway, it’s the sudden spike in energy prices after miners set up in the country.

CleanSpark’s expansion comes against the backdrop of dipping profits for BTC miners. According to investment bank Jefferies, miners’ daily profitability dropped 12% in August, with another report by JPMorgan (NASDAQ: JPM) noting that in the first two weeks of August, profitability dipped to all-time lows.

With all these headwinds, BTC miners are turning to operational consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. CleanSpark forked out $155 million this year to acquire GRIID Infrastructure’s mining operations in what analysts determined was a fire sale that was necessitated by GRIID’s woes.

Bitfarms (NASDAQ: BITF), another big player in the sector, acquired Stronghold in August in an attempt to stave off a hostile takeover by Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT).

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