Bitfury to Sell at Least Part of Its 38% Stake in Bitcoin Miner Hut 8

Corrected (Dec. 11, 18:07 UTC): Corrected to reflect that Bitfury has yet to determine how many shares it plans to sell and updates with its choice to only look at secondary markets.

Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer Bitfury has filed to sell at least part of its 38% stake in Toronto Stock Exchange-listed mining company Hut 8.

The Amsterdam-based manufacturer filed a notice of intention to distribute securities on Dec. 3 for the sale of up to 37,226,958 shares of Hut 8. At current prices, the stake is worth $56.6 million.

Until September, Bitfury held over 40 million shares when it parted with an initial 4 million HUT shares priced at $0.94 each as payment for “a strategic commercial agreement with a third party,” per a press release.

Hut 8 currently has 96.73 million total outstanding shares. Trading at $1.52 at last check, shares have dropped 12% in December.

Bitfury said in a statement it plans to be looking only at secondary market transactions. Precisely when and how much of its stake Bitfury plans to sell is still being evaluated, the company said.

Hut 8 declined to comment on the filing.

Hut 8 and Bitfury first partnered in December 2017 to launch bitcoin mining data centers in North America. At the time, the then-CEO of Hut 8, Sean Clark, referred to his company as “a proxy for Bitfury in North America.”

But a proxy, it is no longer.

Update (Dec. 9, 16:24 UTC): Updated fifth paragraph when Hut 8 declined to comment.