CleanSpark acquires five bitcoin mining centers in Georgia for $25.8 million, while Texas-based LandBridge opens up leasing land to miners.
On June 18th, the mining company CleanSpark announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire five mining facilities in Georgia for $25.8 million. The new centers are expected to increase the company’s hashrate to approximately 20 EH/s by the end of June. The facilities, with operating capacities ranging from 8 to 15 megawatts of power, reach a total of 60 MW. Currently, CleanSpark owns and operates around 300 MW of infrastructure in Georgia.
The new facilities will utilize the latest generation S21 pro ASICs, contributing to a total hashrate of 3.7 EH/s.
Zach Bradford, CleanSpark’s CEO, stated:
“This achievement underscores our commitment to scaling efficiently and sustainably and we are excited to bring these facilities into the CleanSpark way of mining bitcoin.”
Economic and political context
The bitcoin mining industry is going through a period of strong expansion. Several companies outside the sector are considering the idea of entering the industry in order to diversify their revenue streams. Recently, during the BTC Prague 2024 conference, Dirk Röder, Head of Web3 Infrastructure and Solutions at T-Mobile Deutsche Telekom, stated that the company intends to enter the mining sector soon.
On June 13th, the Chinese telecommunications company Coolpad Group announced the acquisition of 2,700 ASICs for bitcoin mining worth $13.5 million.
Recently, attention on mining has increased particularly after former President Donald Trump urged the United States to produce bitcoin nationally to strengthen its energy dominance.
Miners as a new source of passive income
In conjunction with the launch of its IPO, LandBridge, a U.S. energy company that acquires large tracts of land for oil and gas production, announced its goal of attracting bitcoin miners as part of its future strategy.
LandBridge owns over 890 sq km of land between Texas and New Mexico. The company generates revenue by leasing land and selling extracted resources, such as oil and natural gas.
The company believes that bitcoin miners could help expand its revenue streams. LandBridge’s existing infrastructure already provides access to resources such as water, roads, fiber optic infrastructure, and electricity.
The company stated:
“We have identified and are currently pursuing opportunities to receive surface use payments from crypto currency mining, data centers, power storage facilities and commercial fueling stations.”
The company expects to receive payments for surface use and in relation to land utilization. However, the company clarified that it would not own or operate mining-related projects.
