Public Bitcoin miner Hut 8 unveiled its strategies to maintain competitiveness during its first analyst day in almost nine months. After merging with U.S. Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) last November, Hut 8 prioritizes capital efficiency, cost control, and profitable growth. H.C. Wainwright’s crypto analyst Mike Colonnese, however, reported that these plans did not convince investors to take a bullish stance on the stock.
During the event in Miami last week, Hut 8 CEO and USBTC co-founder Ashen Genoot emphasized optimizing power usage to enhance shareholder value, whether through Bitcoin (BTC) mining or providing data centers for intensive computing tasks such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The aftermath of the Bitcoin halving severely impacted miner revenues, slashing block rewards by 50%. This led to miner capitulation as companies sold off BTC holdings to cover expenses and operational costs.
As one of the longest-standing players in the industry, Hut 8 experienced a sharper revenue decline compared to its peers, losing market share to other publicly traded miners. Colonnese highlighted low utilization rates due to an inefficient mining fleet and underperforming miners, resulting in decreased BTC production. Consequently, analysts maintained a sell rating, noting no significant developments from the recent Analyst Day.
Despite these challenges, Hut 8 is advancing with a 1.1-gigawatt pipeline for long-term, cost-effective power solutions. The company also raised $150 million from Coatue to develop next-generation AI infrastructure, which is expected to bolster its market presence and address operational issues.
For more details, refer to the report on Coinbase losing its second-place ranking globally.