Bitcoin miner Greenidge cuts NYDIG debt from $72M to $17M
Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Greenidge Generation has significantly reduced its debt with the investment management firm, New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).
On Jan. 30, Greenidge entered into several agreements associated with its secured debt with NYDIG, transferring ownership of Bitcoin mining hardware and certain credits to NYDIG. The transaction reduced the principal and accrued interest balance of debt with NYDIG from about $76 million to roughly $17 million, resulting in total aggregate debt reduction of around $59 million.
One of the agreements, the senior secured loan agreement, also enables an opportunity for a voluntary prepayment of the loan by transferring ownership of certain mining infrastructure assets. Subject to a binding agreement by NYDIG, the loan agreement can potentially reduce the principal balance of the debt to approximately $7 million.
As previously reported, Greenidge originally signed the deal in mid-December, expecting to reduce NYDIG debt by at least $57 million and up to $68 million.
“The debt restructuring we’ve announced today significantly improves our balance sheet and provides us with a clear path forward as we enter 2023," Greenidge CEO Dave Anderson said. The exec expressed confidence about the strong mining industry development ahead, stating:
“The completion of this debt restructuring, coupled with the execution of the new hosting agreements, has significantly improved our immediate liquidity and allows us to continue participating in the future upside potential of Bitcoin.”Despite essentially restructuring the company into a hosting firm for Bitcoin mining rigs, Greenidge still continues to own about 10,000 miners, maintaining a capacity of 1.1 exahashes per second (EH/s), the firm said.
Amid a tough cryptocurrency winter, many mining firms have been moving to decrease their debt using similar strategies. In late December, Argo Blockchain reduced its total debt by $41 million by selling its flagship Helios mining facility and getting a $35 million loan from Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital.
Related: Public Bitcoin mining companies plagued with $4B of collective debt
In addition to the debt reduction, Greenidge also released preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022, reporting $15 million in revenues and up to $130 million in losses. The firm produced approximately 683 BTC ($15.7 million) during Q4 2022.
Greenidge also mentioned the sale of its software subsidiary Support.com on Jan. 17. The sale generated net proceeds of approximately $2.6 million.