Canadian Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 is nearing the completion of its planned merger with US Bitcoin (USBTC), as it has received final approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The merger, announced in February 2023, will create a new entity called Hut 8 Corporation (or “New Hut”), which will become a publicly listed and traded business in the United States.
This merger will provide access to 825 megawatts of capacity across six Bitcoin mining and data center facilities. The merger’s closing is still subject to a few remaining requirements, including the approval of USBTC shareholders.
Hut 8 expects the final deal to take place before the end of 2023. New Hut intends to list its shares on both the Nasdaq and Toronto stock exchanges, with the ticker symbol HUT. Shareholders will need to submit transmittal letters to receive shares of New Hut common stock after the merger is completed.
Hut 8 recently relocated 6,400 ASIC mining rigs from its inactive North Bay facility in Ontario to Texas to meet increased demand for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. This move was prompted by a legal dispute with Validus Power, a third-party energy supplier, which led to the suspension of operations at the Ontario facility since November 2022.
Additionally, in August 2023, Foundry Digital, an institutional mining and staking subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, announced a formal partnership with Hut 8. This partnership involves Hut 8 supporting various business offerings for Foundry using its Ontario-based data center. Foundry has been using Hut 8’s infrastructure for its cryptocurrency mining pool since 2020.
Notably, in a report published by Todayq News on August 30, 2023, the giant asset manager BlackRock invested $411.5 million in Bitcoin mining companies, including Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital Holdings, Cipher Mining Inc., and TeraWulf Inc. This substantial investment signifies BlackRock’s strategic entry into the cryptocurrency industry, despite its conservative image. Similarly, Vanguard, the second-largest asset manager after BlackRock, invested a staggering $619.7 million in mining companies, as reported by Todayq News.