BIT Mining, a cryptocurrency mining firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has announced steps to expand its mining operations with new acquisitions in Ethiopia.
The company revealed on Dec. 9 that it had completed the first phase of its plan to acquire data centers and Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment in Ethiopia.
In its initial announcement, BIT Mining said it planned to acquire up to $14.2 million worth of data centers and BTC mining machines. The deal will see the miner get an additional 51-megawatt in data centers as well as 17,869 Bitcoin mining machines. The first phase of the deal is done, BIT wrote.
The cash-and-stock transaction included $2.265 million in cash and 369,031,800 Class A ordinary shares to acquire a 35 MW crypto mining data center. BIT Mining also added 17,869 Bitcoin mining machines to its operations.
The next phase of the expansion is expected to conclude in March or April 2025, focusing on acquiring the remaining data centers. The deal should finalize with the new data centers operational by late Q1 or early Q2 2025. If successful, the company plans to issue up to 45,278,600 BTCM shares to fund the expansion.
Read more: Ethiopian Bitcoin mining gets 600MW boost as country signals support for industry
Earlier this month, BIT Mining announced that it would continue to merge mine Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE). The company attributed this to the huge profits that the firm netted from self-mining both LTC and DOGE in the past year.
As of November 27, 2024, BIT had mined a total of 84,485.42 LTC and 227,908,250.38 DOGE.
“The recent rally in Litecoin and Dogecoin, fueled in part by Elon Musk’s influence and the changing regulatory landscape in the US after the Trump win, has had a major impact on mining profitability,” Dr. Youwei Yang, BIT Mining’s chief economist and vice president of mining, said in a statement.
LTC and DOGE prices have surged 73% and 117%, respectively, in the past 30 days. Bitcoin, which recently surpassed $100,000, gained 31% during the same period and has risen 126% over the past year. Meanwhile, BTCM stock climbed 29% in the past week.
You might also like: HIVE Digital shares climb 6% as miner targets 2% of Bitcoin network
