US Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) is seeking to be one of the largest miners in the United States by boosting its computing power by 12.2 exahash/second (EH/s), following an agreement to buy mining assets from the lender bankrupt Celsius, according to a press release.
The miner is part of a consortium, named Fahrenheit, that won a bankruptcy auction for Celsius assets, which include a loan portfolio, crypto assets and 121,800 mining machines. Once it brings all the mining rigs online, its fleet will total at least 270,000 mining rigs, the miner told CoinDesk. This will elevate its computing power to the ranks of mining giants such as Riot Platforms (RIOT), Core Scientific (CORZ) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA).
As part of the Celsius deal, USBTC will enter into one or more operating and services agreements to be the “exclusive operator” of the Celsius mining fleet, the miner said. In addition to that, USBTC will receive an annual management fee of $15 million for the mining assets, net of operating expenses, for the five years it manages the rigs, the company added. This represents $75 million in additional expenses, provided USBTC meets certain operational requirements.
An additional $20 million in management fees will go to the Fahrenheit Consortium, according to court filings. The consortium will also receive equity incentives in the new company that will house Celsius’s assets. USBTC is also to build 100 megawatts (MW) of infrastructure to house the Celsius platforms and provide a plan for building an additional 240 MW of capacity in a site behind the meter.
The Miami-based company has managed to massively increase its operational capabilities in recent months, taking advantage of opportunities arising from bankruptcies. It started from a single site in Niagara Falls, New York, but has now taken control of three sites formerly operated by Compute North, which filed for Chapter 11 in September 2022. Two of them are owned to energy investment firm Generate Capital, while the third is a joint venture between USBTC and energy firm NextEra Energy.
USBTC has managed to secure hosting agreements for 150,000 machines in its facilities. It is also in the process of merging with the Canadian company Hut 8 Mining (HUT).
The other consortium members who will manage Celsius’ assets are Proof Group Capital Management, Steven Kokinos and Ravi Kaza.
UPDATE (May 25, 01:30 UTC): Subtitle changes to show total potential management fee, clarifies USBTC will have at least 270,000 mining rigs after deal.