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Aoyon Ashraf is managing editor with more than a decade of experience in covering equity markets
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark’s (CLSK) stock outperformed peers on Tuesday after the company raised its year-end hashrate or computing power guidance to 5.5 exahash per second (EH/s) from 5 EH/s.
Helped by a surge in bitcoin (BTC) back above $20,000, CleanSpark shares are ahead 19% in lateafternoon trading versus gains in the 14%-16% range for competitors Hut 8 Mining (HUT), Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT).
“Our hashrate growth over the last few months has been helped along with the acquisition of the Washington and Sandersville facilities, but that only tells part of the story,” said CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford in a statement. “This milestone reflects operational prowess and efficiency gains that I believe are unmatched in our industry."
With much of the mining industry struggling mightily under the weight of the bitcoin bear market, CleanSpark has been among those taking advantage by acquiring operations and assets at discounted prices.
Most recently, CleanSpark bought competitor Mawson Infrastructure Group’s (MIGI) mining facility in Sandersville, Georgia, and 6,468 latest-generation mining rigs for up to $42.5 million. The company also purchased 10,000 new Bitmain Antminer S19j Pros for $28 million – a significant markdown from the manufacturer's listed price.
“The effective deployment of our capital strategy has allowed us to exceed hashrate expectations,” said Chief Financial Officer Gary Vecchiarelli. “Crucial to that strategy has been our long-held commitment to selling a portion of the bitcoin we mine to fund growth and operations."
CleanSpark has four owned and operated facilities with about 50,000 bitcoin mining machines operational. The company expects its 2023 year-end hashrate to be 22.4 EH/s. As comparison, Marathon Digital expects to achieve a hashrate of 23.3 EH/s in mid-2023.
