Firesale: $6.6m Bitmain coupons and $158m miner loans
Core and BlockFi continue to unload bitcoin mining assets in bankruptcy proceedings
An earlier version of this post mistook Atlas Technology Group LLC for Atlas Holdings LLC, the parent company of Greenidge Generation, in the loan table breaking down BlockFi’s miner financing borrowers. It has been corrected.
Core Scientific has filed an emergency motion this week looking to fire-sell Bitmain coupons with a face value of $6.6 million. The bankrupt bitcoin mining firm said it has been in discussions with Bitmain and two potential third-parties that may be interested in acquiring the coupons, “albeit at a significant discount.”
Notably, the coupons come with a few covenants:
The majority of the coupons expire on March 22
They can only be applied to new purchases of the AntMiner S19s model with a lower output
They can only be used to pay for 30% of new purchases from Bitmain.
Similarly, Bloomberg reported this week that bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has started the bidding process to sell $158 million in loans secured by around 68,000 units of bitcoin ASIC miners.
Based on further information seen by TheMinerMag, the hashrate collateral that BlockFi possesses totals 6.7 EH/s, which translates to a face value of $23 per TH/s. Below is a breakdown of the borrowers and their respective equipment financing details.
Most of the collateralized miners appear to be the AntMiner S19 series or equivalent models. A few weeks ago, Celsius Mining sold 2,687 WhatsMiner M30s for $1.34 million with an implied valuation of $5.6/TH/s. Based on that reference point, BlockFi’s loan collateral could be worth less than a quarter of the total loan amount. It’d be interesting to see whether and how the bidding deal comes through.
Regulation news
City seeks contempt order and fines for crypto-mining operator - Niagara Gazette
Financial news
CryptoBlox acquires crypto liquid cooling firm CryptoTherm - DatacenterDynamics
Blockstream Raises $125M for Bitcoin Mining - CoinDesk
Bitcoin Miner Gryphon to Go Public Via All-Stock Merger With Cannabis Firm Akerna - CoinDesk
Corporate news
Crypto Billionaire Wu Cuts Jobs at One Firm, Loses CEO at Other - Bloomberg
Bitcoin miner Hut 8 takes dispute with power supplier to court - The Block
Bitcoin Miner Argo Hit With Lawsuit Over ‘Misleading’ US IPO - Bloomberg
Marathon forms Abu Dhabi bitcoin mining JV; initial project of 250MW - The Block
Hardware and Infrastructure
Crypto needs cheap energy. It found a whole bunch in Nebraska - News Channel Nebraska
Celsius to store 20,000 mining machines, remains optimistic about new hosting sites - The Block
Solo Bitcoin Miner Solves Block With Hash Rate of Just 10 TH/s, Beating Extremely Unlikely Odds - Decrypt
Feature
More turbulent times ahead for bitcoin miners, Galaxy Digital says - The Block
Podcast: Here Comes Nuclear-Powered Bitcoin Mining - CoinDesk
Vietnam crypto miners install more rigs as Bitcoin climbs - VnExpress
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