Bitcoin miner Crusoe acquires Great American Mining

Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems acquired the operating assets of Great American Mining (GAM).

Under the deal, Crusoe is adding over 10 megawatts and around 4,000 ASIC to its fleet, as well as a manufacturing facility in Ponchatoula, LA to be used as Crusoe’s new research and development site. Overall, it will increase Crusoe's capacity by 9%, the company said.

"The acquisition integrates GAM’s operations into Crusoe’s DFM systems to utilize stranded and wasted energy resources to power modular data centers and enable energy-intensive computation," it said in a statement Wednesday.

Crusoe will also benefit from the company's commercial relationships with several large-scale energy producers in the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana.

“We value the relationships established by Great American Mining with oil and gas producers in the Bakken oil fields, and look forward to developing these relationships to enhance and expand DFM operations wherever flaring may be a challenge,” said Crusoe co-founder and CEO, Chase Lochmiller.

The Denver-based miner operates modular data centers, using natural gas that would otherwise be flared. It recently raised $505 million in a Series C round to accelerate the growth of its mining operation. At the time, the company said that it planned to expand its workforce to 250 people by the end of the year.

Back in June, Crusoe announced the acquisition of electrical manufacturer Easter-Owens Electric Co in a bid to vertically integrate the company.

There's been talk of consolidation in the bitcoin mining industry lately, and companies like CleanSpark already have been leveraging market conditions to scoop up thousands of mining machines at discounted prices, as well as mining sites.

After GAM's acquisition, Crusoe will have around 125 flare gas-powered modular data centers and 300 employees.

“Our belief at Great American Mining is that bitcoin mining is an important solution to stranded gas and flaring problems - problems that have frustrated the oil & gas industry’s efforts to improve environmental performance and efficient use of Earth’s natural resources for decades,” said Todd Garland, founder and CEO of GAM, in a statement released by Crusoe.