American Bitcoin miner CleanSpark has entered into an agreement to acquire 160,000 Antminer S21 units from Bitmain, equivalent to 32 EH/s. This initiative will enable the firm to increase its hash rate to 50 EH/s.
In October, CleanSpark announced the purchase of similar devices with a combined computational power of 4.4 EH/s. At that time, the company stated that once all miners are operational, its hash rate would exceed 20 EH/s. The first deliveries are scheduled for this month.
Under the new arrangements, the firm will receive 60,000 Antminer S21 units between April and June 2024. CleanSpark’s expenditures amounted to $193.2 million, including discounts and coupons ($16.1 per TH/s).
The agreement includes a strategic call option until the end of the year to purchase 100,000 miners at a fixed price of $16 per TH/s. If exercised, the company’s hash rate would increase fivefold—from 10 EH/s to 50 EH/s, according to the press release.
“This strategic agreement […] allows us to fully leverage the opportunities we anticipate on the horizon. We are prepared to enter the next bull market without worrying about rising machine costs. The option acts as a hedge against this risk,” stated CleanSpark CEO Zachary Bradford.
The top executive recalled that during the last bull market, device prices increased three to five times.
Earlier in October, CleanSpark achieved a Bitcoin hash rate of 10 EH/s.