Bitcoin miner Greenidge signs $74M debt restructuring agreement with NYDIG
According to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 20, Bitcoin (BTC) miner Greenidge stated that it reached an agreement with its creditor, fintech firm NYDIG, to restructure approximately $74 million worth of debt. The deal, in the form of a non-binding term sheet, would result in a major change to Greenidge's current business strategy. Essentially, it would transform Greenidge from self-mining to hosting for NYDIG's mining rigs.
Under the conditions, NYDIG would purchase miners with approximately 2.8 exahash per second (EH/s) of mining capacity to be hosted by Greenidge, which will facilitate NYDIG rights to a mining site within three months following the completion of debt restructuring and hosting agreements. In exchange for consideration amounting to the purchased miners and transfer of mining infrastructure and credits to NYDIG, the firm would agree to a $57 million to $68 million debt reduction for Greenidge.
Additionally, Greenidge will be collateralizing a sizable portion of its unencumbered assets to secure the remaining balance of the NYDIG loan. The firm would retain ownership of miners with a capacity of 1.2 EH/s. As of October 31, 2022, Greenidge had approximately 2.5 EH/s of mining capacity from approximately 24,500 miners in service.
However, the company also wrote that "there remains uncertainty regarding Greenidge's financial condition and substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern." Last month, Greenidge used approximately $8 million of its cash during operations, of which $5.5 million went to principal and interest payments. As of November 30, 2022, the company's cash balance amounted to approximately $22.0 million. Greenidge also warned that "NYDIG and Greenidge will endeavor to enter into definitive documentation reflecting the terms described in this release, but there can be no assurances made that such terms will not change materially nor can there be any assurances made that the transactions discussed in this release will be consummated."
Last September, Cointelegraph reported that Greenidge completed a merger with customer and technical support solutions provider Support.com to become a publicly listed mining firm on the NASDAQ. Since then, shares have plunged over 99%, partly due to a combination of the ongoing crypto winter, higher electricity prices, higher mining difficulty, and lower market prices for Bitcoin mining rigs.