Mike Colonnese

Mike Colonnese asked about the key development milestones investors should anticipate for CleanSpark's HPC strategy in 2026, focusing on deployments at the Texas and Sandersville sites. He also inquired about near-term expansion plans for the Bitcoin mining business, including existing site expansions, greenfield opportunities, and M&A.

Answer

Matt Schultz, Chairman and CEO of CleanSpark, highlighted the urgent demand from hyperscalers for 2026, making Sandersville and Sealy critical due to their energization potential. He emphasized the strategic MOU with Submer for modular, factory-built MEP solutions to ensure speed to market. For Bitcoin mining, Schultz outlined a strategy of migrating operations to remote locations with favorable blockchain-specific tariffs, aiming to bring an additional 6 EH/s online by calendar Q1 2026, and pursuing disciplined fleet upgrades to maintain efficiency.

Mike Colonnese asked about key development milestones for CleanSpark's HPC strategy in 2026, focusing on deployments at the Texas and Sandersville sites. He also inquired about the near-term expansion plans for the Bitcoin mining business, including existing site expansions versus new development or M&A.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Matt Schultz noted that hyperscalers face constrained 2026 forecasts, driving demand for alternative builds. He explained that Sandersville is operational and can quickly switch to a 200-megawatt critical IT load. Mr. Schultz highlighted the MoU with Submer, emphasizing its modular approach and pre-approved reference architectures for AMD and NVIDIA, which significantly enhance speed to market. For Bitcoin mining, Mr. Schultz indicated a migration away from metro areas to remote locations with favorable blockchain-specific tariffs, with 6 exahash of S21 XP immersion miners expected online by calendar Q1 2026, maintaining a focus on fleet efficiency.

Mike Colonnese of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC inquired about the deployment timeline for the 200 megawatts of available contracted power and sought management's perspective on the current M&A landscape for Bitcoin miners.

Answer

President and CEO Zachary Bradford explained that the immediate focus is on delivering the next 10 exahash, which will use a portion of the 200 megawatts, with plans for the remainder to be announced soon. He also described the M&A pipeline as 'very robust,' particularly in the private space, noting potential opportunities as other miners pivot to HPC.

Mike Colonnese from H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC asked about the key assumptions behind the company's Q3 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. He also sought details on the criteria for expanding into two potential new international markets.

Answer

Scott Buchanan, Director, COO, and Principal Financial Officer, explained that the guidance is driven by the maturation of existing kiosks, new deployments from inventory, and sustained cost optimization. CEO Brandon Mintz detailed that international expansion decisions are based on factors like local Bitcoin adoption, total addressable market (TAM), and the regulatory environment, which may require securing licenses or partnerships.

Mike Colonnese from H.C. Wainwright & Co. asked for details on the $400 million total CapEx for Panther Creek, its implications for deal economics, and the process required to convert its Quebec Bitcoin mining sites to HPC data centers.

Answer

CFO Jeff Lucas stated the $400 million CapEx is an estimate for a full build-out ready for large GPUs, which may vary by customer. CEO Ben Gagnon added they are optimizing for both ROIC and long-term revenue. Regarding Quebec, Gagnon explained that converting mining megawatts to data center megawatts requires a novel regulatory approval process. While politically supported, the timeline is uncertain, with a tentative target of 2027-2028 for conversion.

Mike Colonnese of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC inquired about the use of proceeds from American Bitcoin's private placement and the likelihood of exercising the purchase option with Bitmain.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot stated that American Bitcoin's capital will be used exclusively to acquire Bitcoin or ASICs, reinforcing its status as a pure-play accumulation vehicle. He added that Hut 8 is comfortable with its current Bitmain hosting agreement, as its economics are enhanced by the stake in American Bitcoin.

Mike Colonnese from H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC inquired about the use of proceeds from American Bitcoin's private placement and the likelihood of exercising the Bitmain purchase option.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot stated that American Bitcoin's capital is dedicated purely to acquiring Bitcoin or Bitcoin-generating ASICs. He added that Hut 8 is satisfied with the economics of its current hosting agreement with Bitmain, and any exercise of the option by American Bitcoin would further benefit Hut 8 through its equity stake.

Inquired about the specific timing for the mining fleet upgrade, the total wholly-owned megawatt capacity, the utilization rate assumptions for the HPC business's revenue forecast, and the company's preferred go-to-market strategy for future HPC expansion (GPU-as-a-service vs. co-location).

Answer

The executive explained that fleet upgrade timing depends on ongoing negotiations for pricing and financing. The company has about 1 gigawatt of wholly-owned capacity (including JVs). The HPC revenue forecast is based on average partner utilization, not 100%. For future expansion, the company is pursuing both the GPU-as-a-service model and large-scale co-location deals in parallel.

Asked about the company's geographic focus for future growth and expansion opportunities.

Answer

While the company has a strong history in Canada, they consider themselves nimble, flexible, and geographically agnostic. They are open to growth opportunities anywhere with favorable conditions, evaluating locations from Quebec and Texas to the deserts of Oman.