Out of all the major public bitcoin mining equities, CleanSpark is one of two–the other being Cango, a Chinese company that recently entered Bitcoin mining–that hasn’t made any inroads with an AI/HPC business line.
The company has stayed true to bitcoin mining, hitting 50 EH/s in June to become one of only four public miners (MARA, IREN, and Cango) to achieve the milestone. Now, Cleanspark’s previous CEO, Zach Bradford, has resigned and co-founder Matthew Schultz is taking the helm. Will the change in leadership bring with it a change in direction for the company toward AI / HPC?
Harry Sudock, a senior VP at CleanSpark, joined Blockspace for a conversation on the company’s direction, capital strategy, and more on the latest Mining Pod.
The following is an edited summary of a recent Mining Pod interview with CleanSpark SVP Harry Sudock. In this episode, Will Foxley sits down with Harry Suddock of CleanSpark following a pivotal week for the company. The discussion covers the recent leadership change after Zach Bradford’s departure, CleanSpark’s approach to Bitcoin mining versus potential HPC ventures, the company’s capital strategy, and how it views cash flow, efficiency, and long-term shareholder value.
Okay. Welcome back to the Mining Pod. On the heels of a big week for CleanSpark, how are you doing?
Good, Will. Good to see you.
We’re here in Georgia for the Proto announcement. Great job to the team for rolling that out..
They’ve been incredible hosts. Proud to mine extensively in the great state of Georgia, so it’s great to see them bring some love to our backyard.
Let’s dig into CleanSpark. Zach departed this week after the quarterly earnings. Tell me about that.
Any company goes through transition periods. Zach did a lot, taking the business from energy into Bitcoin mining and scaling us significantly. Between him and the board, there was a mutual understanding it was time to move forward. We’re fortunate that Matt has been involved since day zero, so it was a natural handoff.
This seems like a good opportunity for a strategic change. You’ve been a pure-play miner while competitors have looked at cloud or HPC. Do you see that changing?
We remain data-driven. Historically, ROI and risk-adjusted profitability led us to stay pure-play. But we’ve got over a gigawatt under contract, 1.2 in near-term pipeline, 1.7 in mid- to long-term pipeline. With all that power, we’re flexible in thinking through the best use for shareholders.
Your management team has been around for a while. Do you expect any changes to signal a shift?
We’ve built a team ready to tackle any challenge. With Matt in the big seat, we’ll be more deliberate about sharing strategy with the market. We raised a $680 million convertible bond in December and maintain close communication with bondholders and shareholders alike.
Looking at performance this year, analysts have noted strong cash flow. How do you view growth since last fall?
We focus on fundamentals. On October 1, 2024, we had 27 EH/s; today we’re at 50. That growth creates operating leverage—controlling non-energy costs while scaling. Cash flow gives us optionality to pursue future opportunities.
CleanSpark has a higher-cost energy portfolio, which some say pushes you toward HPC. But you’ve worked on fleet efficiency and sourcing. Can you talk about that?
It’s not just joules per terahash efficiency—it’s CapEx per terahash and recovery period. Canaan machines, for example, aren’t as efficient as Bitmain, but the cost structure allows faster ROI. With 30+ facilities, we optimize across the portfolio, marrying machine type with power cost. Profitability, not vanity metrics, drives our decisions.
And the 10 EH/s expansion—what’s the status?
It’s a blend of site expansion, new build, and partially complete facilities. Going from 50 to 60 EH/s is well within hand. We control our own destiny.
Let’s talk capital strategy. You raised a $680 million convertible bond and have a Coinbase collateralized line. How do you think about financing?
The job of management is marrying sources of capital with uses of capital. Coinbase gives us tactical flexibility. The convertible let us invest in long-term infrastructure. Equity deals like the Grid acquisition made sense for strategic markets. A mature capital stack gives us tools for every opportunity.
Last one—CleanSpark sells Bitcoin monthly to fund operations, while some treasury-style miners hold and leverage. Would you change strategy given the market?
In the short term the market is a voting machine; in the long term it’s a weighing machine. We want to build on bedrock, not sand. A self-sufficient, high-margin operating business creates long-term optionality and shareholder value.
