Bitcoin miner Hut 8 is expanding its partnership with Bitmain to introduce a new ASIC miner with direct liquid-to-chip cooling, set to deploy in Q2 2025.
Miami-headquartered crypto mining firm Hut 8 has expanded its partnership with Bitmain, announcing the upcoming launch of the U3S21EXPH, a next-generation ASIC miner capable of reaching up to 860 TH/s.
In a Sept. 19 press release, the company the miner, which is scheduled for deployment in Q2 2025, is the first mass-commercialized ASIC model to feature direct liquid-to-chip cooling in a U-form factor.
“We believe this model represents a more thoughtful approach to capturing the lucrative economics offered by next-generation machines, reducing upfront capital requirements while we continue to pursue growth initiatives in AI infrastructure.”
Asher Genoot, Hut8 chief executive officer
Under the hosting agreement, Hut 8 has the option to purchase all or a portion of the hosted miners in up to three tranches at a fixed price within six months of deployment. If Hut 8 exercises the option in full, the company’s self-mining hashrate is expected to increase from 5.6 EH/s to 20.6 EH/s, the press release reads.
The agreement is designed to minimize upfront capital expenditures and provide flexibility for future purchases, allowing Hut 8 to assess market conditions “before committing additional capital,” per the document.
The news comes after Hut 8 secured a $150 million investment in June from Coatue Management to accelerate its artificial intelligence infrastructure development. At the time, Hut 8 said the investment was made as “many traditional data center operators are failing to meet the surging demand for AI compute capacity due to power shortages.”
This article first appeared at crypto.news