CleanSpark boosts computing power by 37% with thousands of new Bitmain rigs

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark is growing its mining capacity in the United States with the purchase of 20,000 new Antminer S19j Pro+ units for $43.6 million. The acquisition is expected to boost the company’s computing power by 37% and brings the total number of miners purchased during the bear market to 46,500 units.

According to a statement on Feb. 16, CleanSpark will pay $32.3 million for the machines after applying coupons at a 25% discount or a total price per terahash (TH) of approximately $13.25. The Pro+ rigs are 22% more productive than their previous models and are planned to be delivered in batches between March and May.

The company is leveraging the market’s lower rig prices to boost its mining capacity, while Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rebounds. According to data from Hashrate Index, the current price per TH of ASICs of the same Bitcoin mining efficiency are currently at $15.09, well below the $90.72 seen 12 months ago. CleanSpark said the Antminer S19j Pro+ model offers a better return on investment compared to the same ASIC-generation machines.

“After they are fully operational, they are expected to add 2.44 EH/s to CleanSpark’s existing 6.6 EH/s of bitcoin mining computing power (for a total of 9 EH/s), constituting a 37% increase,” noted the company. 

CleanSpark claims that the acquired models continue to be more attractive to its operations in the current market conditions. “The S19j Pro+ delivers 122 terahash per machine and saves an average of 2 joules of energy per terahash compared to the S19j Pro model of the same generation.”

A total of 15,000 of the new machines will be delivered to the company’s locations in the city of Washington, Georgia. CleanSpark disclosed in January a $16-million expansion in the site, which is forecasted to increase its hash rate by 2.2 exahashes per second (EH/s), with its total hash rate reaching as high as 8.7 EH/s. The facility was acquired by the company in August last year before taking over Mawson Infrastructure Group’s facility in Sandersville.

— CleanSpark Inc. (@CleanSpark_Inc) February 16, 2023

After a tough year in 2022 with declining Bitcoin prices and high electricity costs, publicly listed mining companies saw a rise in mining production and hash rates in January, according to an analysis from Hashrate Index. CleanSpark boosted its Bitcoin mining production by 50% during the month, reaching a record monthly production of 697 BTC. Its hash rate rose to 6.6 EH/s from 6.2 EH/s in December.

Other public mining companies, such as Core Scientific, Riot, Marathon and Cipher have seen significant increases in Bitcoin production in the past month, helped by stable electricity prices and better weather conditions in the United States.