Blockstream raises $125m to be directed to mining

Blockstream has successfully raised $125 million to expand its presence in the bitcoin (BTC) mining market, which has seen its top players struggle to maintain their positions. The company is investing in growing its hosting services and infrastructure.

Erik Svenson, president and chief financial officer of Blockstream, stated that Blockstream could continue to construct infrastructure for the future bitcoin economy and accelerate the year-over-year rise in revenue they built with their 2021 Series B thanks to this fundraising, which lets them accelerate that growth. 

The last funding round of $210 million took place in August 2021, at a time when the market was approaching its all-time high market value of more than $3 trillion. Those funds were utilized to construct mining facilities for hosting services. As part of these services, consumers hire the ASICs owned by the firm to mine bitcoin for a certain period. The funds raised in 2023 will be used for the same reason.

The press release reads:

“Demand for Blockstream’s hosting services continues to stay high owing to the company’s outstanding track record and large size, combined with an industry-wide lack of accessible power capacity.”

Blockstream standing strong despite market turbulences

Blockstream is one of the biggest mining operators in the world, and the company has a development pipeline of 500 megawatts. Competing businesses, such as Core Scientific, one of the biggest publicly listed miners in North America, declared bankruptcy in December after selling almost all of their bitcoin holdings and being unable to pay down their debt. Core Scientific is, at this time, the subject of an investigation for possibly engaging in securities fraud.

Iris Energy found itself in a similar situation. As a result, the company reduced the amount of bitcoin it mined in May to pay back the collateralized loans it had taken out for mining gear in November.