CleanSpark Ditches Bitcoin 'HODL' Strategy to Stop Dilution Via Equity Raise

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) is moving away from its strategy of HODLing 100% of the $BTC it mines.

The Henderson, Nevada-based company said it is returning to selling a portion of the bitcoin mined to support its operations in an announcement on Tuesday.

"While we remain committed to bitcoin as a long-term, hardened asset, we believe a more effective way to increase shareholder value is through a balanced approach between monetizing new production and building long-term holdings," CEO Zach Bradford said.

CleanSpark's holdings now exceed 12,000 $BTC, worth just over $1 billion at current prices.

The company has also increased its credit facility with Coinbase Prime (COIN) to $200 million, pursuing a strategy of funding its operations without having to sell equity. CleanSpark, which has 40.2 exahash per second (EH/s) mining power, is looking to expand it to 50 EH/s.

"As part of this balanced approach, we intend to further build out our diversified capital stack. In today's market environment, we view the debt markets as the most efficient and responsible path to support accretive growth, and our strong balance sheet positions us to take full advantage of that opportunity," Bradford added.

CLSK shares rose just over 1% before paring their gains in early trading on Tuesday, outperforming the broader $BTC mining sector, as measured by the CoinShares Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which fell more than.