Hut 8 Mining (HUT.T) agreed to provide hosting services for Taal Distributed Information Technologies today, according to a press release.
The deal provides physical hosting and optimization, as well as access to competitive electrical power for 960 new digital hashing computers owned and operated by TAAL. Hut 8 will also work with TAAL to make their existing operations more efficient.
“At Hut 8, we are focused on diversifying our revenue-generating business model and creating catalysts for growth. Strengthening our existing hosting services line of business with strategic partners is a growth focus for the Company as we continue to see more institutional players expand their investments in digital asset mining. We strive to offer our partners a best-in-class North American-based option for their hosting needs,” said Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8.
Hut 8 is ostensibly a Bitcoin miner. They carry some of the highest installed capacity rates in the industry, and they’re presently ranked 11th (of 10,000) on the 2021 OTCQX Best 50. They’re also the first publicly traded miner to reach the Toronto Stock Exchange, being accepted to their sandbox program before getting full acceptance.
What this hosting deal represents is significant diversification. In addition to their revenue-generating Bitcoin mining deal, they’ve flung open their doors and given access to their extra power reserves to other cryptocurrency miners. TAAL is an inspired choice, because TAAL mines Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, which represents no competition to Hut 8’s model. TAAL does so in support of its blockchain transaction processing business, and with the new partnership, TAAL anticipates its hash rate to be at least 450 PH/s, which is well ahead of its intended goal of closing 30 BSV blocks a day.
“We are very pleased to be working with Hut 8, as we both share a dedication to excellence and having aligned core values of limiting our impact on the environment,” said Stefan Matthews, TAAL executive chairman, and chief executive officer.
As of right now, Bitcoin SV is trading at $168.71 and whenever TAAL (or anyone else) closes one of its blocks, it spits out 6.25 BSV every time. That’s roughly $430. If TAAL closes the block 30 times a day then that’s a smidge under $13,000 a day.
The company’s Q1 highlights indicate the absolute need to find ways to cut costs, and this deal couldn’t have been more timely.
- Hashing operations recommenced in January 2021 resulting in gross revenues of $0.9 million for the quarter, representing approximately 89% of gross revenues.
- Income before operating expenses was $5.3 million for the quarter, which included a realized gain of $1.9 million on the Company’s sale of digital assets and unrealized gains of $2.9 million.
- Operating costs totaled $5.1 million for the quarter, resulting in net positive income from operations.
- On March 18, 2021, the Company closed a public equity offering for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $40.0 million.
- Down payments for hashing equipment and hosting provider services of $6.3 million were made during the quarter. (block quote)
Saving money by letting Hut do all the heavy lifting so TAAL can focus on mining is a smart move.
—Joseph Morton