Crypto miner Hut 8 plans to hold 5K Bitcoin by 2022

Toronto-based crypto mining firm Hut 8 said it plans to increase its self-mined Bitcoin holdings based on its expectation it will be able to expand its hashrate by 400%.

According to a Monday announcement, Hut 8 said it expects to hold 5,000 self-mined Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $172 million — by the end of 2021, a more than 31% increase over its current 3,806 BTC. The company said the anticipated crypto holdings were based on it being able to increase its hashrate to “2.5 – 3.0 EH by the end of 2021 and to approximately 6 EH by mid-2022” — a 400% increase over its current levels.

“We now have 1.2 Exahash in production and ongoing installation of new equipment puts us on a near-term trajectory to produce an additional 2 – 3 Bitcoin per day by the end of August, on top of our current production rate of 6.2 – 7.3 Bitcoin per day,” said Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton.

The projected Bitcoin holdings follow Hut 8 completing a June 15 public offering, which earned the company more than $93 million in gross proceeds. The firm said it plans to use the funds for previously announced investments with crypto mining processor producer Nvidia, Chinese supplier MicroBT, and Validus Power for its energy requirements from mining.

Related: Bitcoin hash rate hits 8-month low as Chinese miners power down

China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining has led to a significant drop in the network’s hash rate, with many firms forced to close their doors — particularly in Sichuan province. However, Hut 8 said it anticipates network difficulty to drop by up to 20% on July 1, “given the subsequent and ongoing exodus of miners in China.” Some reports have suggested that Chinese miners are considering relocating to Texas, a state with low-cost renewable energy in part due to looser regulations than those in many other states.

Hut 8 is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining firms alongside Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot, and Hive Blockchain. Stock for the firm has seen modest year-to-date gains in 2021, rising more than 24% to reach $3.80 at the time of publication.