Core Scientific sold 7,202 bitcoin in June, generating $167 million

Quick Take

  • Core Scientific sold the majority of its bitcoin holdings in June — a total of 7,202 BTC for $167 million.
  • The company said that the money was used for equipment payments, capital investments in additional data center capacity and scheduled repayment of debt.

Core Scientific sold 7,202 bitcoin throughout the month of June, bringing in $167 million at an average price of $23,000 per bitcoin.

That money was mostly used for equipment payments, capital investments in additional data center capacity and scheduled repayment of debt, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The bitcoin sold represented a majority of the company's holdings, which totaled 8,058 bitcoin at the end of May.

"We are working to strengthen our balance sheet and enhance liquidity to meet this challenging environment," said CEO Mike Levitt. "Our industry is enduring tremendous stress as capital markets have weakened, interest rates are rising and the economy deals with historic inflation. Our company has successfully endured downturns in the past, and we are confident in our ability to navigate the current market turmoil."

Other bitcoin miners have similarly sold a significant portion of their bitcoin holdings recently. Bitfarms, for one, gave up 3,000 BTC to pay down part of a $100 million loan from Galaxy Digital.

By the end of June, Core Scientific had 1,959 bitcoin and roughly $132 million in cash on its balance sheet. Going forward, the company intends to continue selling some of its self-mined bitcoin to "pay operating expenses, fund growth, retire debt and maintain liquidity," the statement said.

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Meanwhile, in June, it generated 1,106 self-mined bitcoin — down 2.8% from the previous month. While the company deployed new miners last month, bitcoin production was impacted by a "substantial increase in curtailment activity," meaning that they had to power down for a total of 2,472 megawatt-hours.

Daily bitcoin production actually went up by 14% in June, from 34.8 BTC per day at the beginning of the month to 39.8 BTC.

By the end of the month, Core Scientific had a self-mining hash rate of 10.3 exahash per second (EH/s) and an additional 7.6 EH/s in colocation services. The company aims to reach 30 EH/s by the end of the year.

"We remain focused on executing our plan, while taking advantage of distressed opportunities that may arise," Levitt said.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Catarina is a reporter for The Block based in New York City. Before joining the team, she covered local news at Patch.com and at the New York Daily News. She started her career in Lisbon, Portugal, where she worked for publications such as Público and Sábado. She graduated from NYU with a MA in Journalism. Feel free to email any comments or tips to [email protected] or to reach out on Twitter (@catarinalsm).