BTC miners spend differently — here’s why 

Recent announcements from segment players inform the various strategies behind spending capital

article-image

Artie Medvedev/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate. Kwanzaa kicks off tomorrow too.

While Santa’s elves worked hard in the holiday lead-up, bitcoin miners were busy raising money for different purposes. 

We touched on this phenomenon earlier this month. Bitdeer noted proceeds from its convertible senior notes offering would go toward datacenter expansion and mining rig development. Marathon and Riot Platforms have signaled the route of using raised capital to buy more BTC.    

More recent announcements from two other segment players continue to highlight that not all BTC miners agree on the best way to spend the capital they secure.

Less than a week ago, Hut 8 touted its purchase of 990 BTC for $100 million (avg. price of ~$101,710). Two days earlier, CleanSpark CFO Gary Vecchiarelli noted his company was choosing not to pay such a price for BTC.

Loading Tweet..

I followed up with Vecchiarelli. He told me the company is “laser focused on producing bitcoin from our mining operations at a significant discount to the spot price.” The marginal cost to produce each coin last quarter was roughly $36,250, he explained. 

The company’s main 2025 growth priority is reaching a hash rate of 50 EH/s as soon as possible, while also growing its digital asset management group to manage its bitcoin treasury (9,297 BTC, as of Nov. 30). 

As Hut 8 buys more BTC, Marathon Digital has used capital from convertible notes to boost its BTC holdings to 44,394 BTC, as of Dec. 18. 

“We are happy to be different [from] those companies,” Vecchiarelli said, adding that CleanSpark’s healthy margins allow the company to build its balance sheet holdings “in a durable fashion.”

Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot made clear to me the company’s strategic bitcoin reserve is “a complement, not a substitute, to our core operating strategy, which prioritizes disciplined, fundamentals-driven growth.”

The miner doesn’t have explicit price levels at which it would totally rule out buying BTC, Genoot added — but is “extremely sensitive to valuation extremes and [optimizes] for risk-adjusted returns.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Pipe Network is a decentralized content delivery network (dCDN) that replaces the sparse, capital intensive data center footprint of traditional CDNs with a permissionless mesh of independent node operators. By orchestrating under-utilized resources that already exist at the edge, rather than purchasing or leasing thousands of servers, Pipe slashes capital intensity while letting supply expand autonomously in the places where bandwidth is scarcest and most expensive.

article-image

On Empire, Dragonfly’s Rob Hadick noted that we may see M&A activity pick up in DATs

article-image

The SEC begins a new chapter in its crypto love affair

article-image

Despite two governor dissents for the first time in 30 years, Powell remained sternly hawkish

article-image

Rarity, exclusivity, and community are key tenets of NFTs — how did Labubus execute them so much better?