CleanSpark, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company focused on sustainability, has acquired another 3,843 cryptocurrency miners amid mining industry consolidation.
The company announced a $5.9 million purchase of Antminer S19J Pro Bitcoin miners on Nov. 1 at a price of $15.50 per terahash — far less than the current market price of $22.94 for a machine with the same efficiency, according to Hashrate Index data.
According to the company, the purchase brings its total number of machines to around 50,000.
CleanSpark stated that it has purchased 26,500 miners since the beginning of the bear market conditions, at a time when many mining companies have been forced to sell mining equipment or even consider bankruptcy.
The miners could have been purchased from competitor Argo Blockchain, as an Oct. 31 update from Argo shows it sold 3,843 Bitmain S19J Pro machines, the exact amount and miner model that CleanSpark purchased.
While other Bitcoin miners are struggling in the current market conditions, CEO Zach Bradford stated that CleanSpark has been able to “acquire machines at incredible prices, grow our hashrate, and increase our daily Bitcoin production” due to a “unwavering focus” on sustainability, a strong balance sheet, and its operating strategy.
Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of CleanSpark, previously told Cointelegraph that one of CleanSpark’s operating strategies has been to view Bitcoin mining as a “potential solution for creating more opportunities for energy development.”
CleanSpark, for example, collaborates with various city councils in the United States to purchase excess energy in order to improve the efficiency of its mining operations – but it also reduces energy costs for those communities, according to Schultz:
“These cities essentially become our utility provider. They make a margin on every kilowatt hour we buy to conduct our mining operations. Yet, we are buying such high quantities of energy that it brings down energy costs for the communities we work with.”
However, as Bitcoin mining difficulty rises and profitability falls, mining companies will need to find new ways to diversify their revenue streams in order to stay afloat, while some companies may be forced to consolidate in order to stay in the game.