Fortitude expands Zcash mining push with up to $100 million equipment commitment

Fortitude Mining Holdings has signed a letter of intent with BITMAIN Technologies for priority access to the manufacturer's next-generation Zcash (ZEC) mining equipment, with a non-binding commitment to purchase up to $100 million of the unreleased equipment, the company said on Tuesday.

"Securing a priority supply allocation for BITMAIN’s next-generation equipment, alongside our existing operating base and previously announced Z15 Pro order, positions Fortitude to expand its fleet with industry-leading hardware as it becomes available," CEO Jaime Leverton said in a statement. 

Fortitude was spun out of DCG’s Foundry self-mining operation in January 2025 and has since shifted its focus toward a broader venture-mining platform anchored in Zcash. 

The company says it currently operates about 4.7 GSol/s of Equihash hashrate and has more than 60 MW of contracted power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, and New York. In July, it agreed to buy 9,000 BITMAIN Antminer Z15 Pro machines for about $31.5 million, adding 7.56 GSol/s of capacity.

Fortitude also increased its credit facility with parent Digital Currency Group to $70 million from $50 million, according to the statement, with about $42.7 million of remaining borrowing capacity.

Meanwhile, the LOI requires a refundable deposit equal to 20% of the commitment, or $20 million. Fortitude plans to draw that amount this week, with DCG expected to fund the borrowing in ZEC.

Zcash traded above $1,370 on Tuesday, up 3.6% over 24 hours, according to The Block's ZEC price page. Fortitude has remained bullish on the asset, with DCG founder Barry Silbert previously arguing that Zcash could eventually capture 5% to 10% of bitcoin's market cap.