decrypt.co
Embattled Bitcoin miner Greenidge Generation has finalized its debt restructuring plans with investment bank B.Riley and crypto investment firm NYDIG, reducing its total debts by $61 million.
In December 2022, the miner announced that there was “substantial doubt” about its capacity to continue as a business, saying that its board of directors had actively discussed the possibility of voluntary bankruptcy.
Greenidge said the new agreements with its two major lenders have reduced its debt balances from approximately $87 million to around $26 million.
As per the announcement, Greenidge has restructured its secured debt with NYDIG of approximately $76 million, which includes accrued interest, reducing it to approximately $17 million.
The terms of the deal included the transfer of approximately 2.8 EH/s of mining capacity as well as mining infrastructure and equipment.
The new deal with NYDIG also includes the potential to reduce the debt even further, by approximately $7 million, if Greenidge can facilitate the rights to a new mining site on behalf of NYDIG within three months.
Greenidge was also able to reduce its $11 million promissory note—a type of debt repayment agreement—agreed with B. Riley to $9 million in cash obligations.
The terms of that include B. Riley agreeing to purchase $1 million of Greenidge's Class A common stock at a reduced rate, with manufacturing holding company Atlas Holdings LLC also buying $1 million stock at market prices, with B. Riley acting as its agent for this transaction.
Greenidge said it is also “actively pursuing” the sale of excess real estate at its site in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which is expected to reduce its debt with B. Riley by an additional $6 million.
Decrypt has contacted Greenidge, B. Riley, and NYDIG for additional comment.
Bitcoin miners ride the wave
The past six months have been brutal for miners, with some, such as Core Scientific recently declaring bankruptcy.
There does, however, appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Bitcoin prices have hurtled upward by almost 40% since the start of January 2023 per CoinGecko data, which could serve to improve the fortunes of an industry that has been stung by rising energy costs and increased mining difficulty.