Zcash mining company Fortitude brought a 12-megawatt facility online in Grand Island, Nebraska, announced Tuesday. The Digital Currency Group-owned company expanded its owned power portfolio to more than 60 megawatts across seven sites with the completion of its first greenfield data center. The facility is designed to reduce direct cash costs of mining Zcash through lower electricity expenses and newer mining equipment. The announcement follows Fortitude's planned business combination with HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS), a publicly traded medical technology company, which would take Fortitude public.
Fortitude Completes First Greenfield Facility in Nebraska
Fortitude said its first greenfield facility has completed construction and electrical testing and is ready for commercial operations. The 12-megawatt site is located between two solar generation facilities and next to a substation with excess capacity. The facility is designed to operate as an interruptible load that can reduce electricity consumption during periods of peak demand. CEO Andrea Childs stated that owning the asset rather than leasing capacity is intended to give the company flexibility.
Facility Expected to Cut Mining Costs to $40 Per Zcash Coin
Fortitude said the facility is expected to reduce its direct cash cost of mining Zcash from about $70 per coin to roughly $40 per coin, assuming successful deployment of mining equipment and stable power, network and market conditions. The company said the projected savings stem from lower-cost owned power and more efficient next-generation mining hardware. The facility is expected to purchase electricity for about $0.045 per kilowatt-hour. Zcash currently trades for $489 per coin at an $8 billion market capitalization.
Fortitude Pursues Public Listing Through HeartSciences Merger
The milestone comes ahead of Fortitude's planned public listing through its previously announced business combination with HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS). The company launched in January 2025 and emerged from Digital Currency Group's mining division at Foundry to mine Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies through what it calls a venture mining strategy. Fortitude said it would reinvest mining profits into new equipment and site acquisitions as it expanded its infrastructure footprint.
Power Strategy Focuses on Owned-and-Operated Assets
"Our power strategy is owned-and-operated, and that discipline is what underpins our vertically integrated Zcash strategy and our venture mining platform," CEO Andrea Childs told Decrypt. "Owning the asset rather than leasing capacity from someone whose incentives run opposite to ours is intended to give us a degree of flexibility that we believe few operators have." Childs added that by developing and owning its own sites, the company seeks to control its power costs directly rather than relying on third-party vendors. Grand Island officials said Fortitude's mining facility was designed to operate as a flexible grid resource while limiting its impact on the surrounding community.
FAQ
What did Fortitude announce on Tuesday?
Fortitude announced that it brought a 12-megawatt mining facility in Grand Island, Nebraska, online, completing its first greenfield data center and expanding its owned power portfolio to more than 60 megawatts across seven sites.
How much does Fortitude expect to reduce its Zcash mining costs?
Fortitude said the facility is expected to reduce its direct cash cost of mining Zcash from about $70 per coin to roughly $40 per coin, assuming successful deployment of mining equipment and stable power, network and market conditions.
What is Fortitude's plan for going public?
Fortitude is pursuing a public listing through a previously announced business combination with HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS), a publicly traded medical technology company.
