The transparency of Bitcoin's hashrate, which captures the computational force being used across the network, creates a degree of transparency innate to Bitcoin mining, according to Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton. This transparency allows for easy tracking of Bitcoin miners' energy usage, unlike the traditional banking system or hard metal mining.

The shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) and several crypto-related stocks were rising Friday as the price of bitcoin surpassed $26,000, up 6% over the last 24 hours.

The last publicly listed bitcoin miner to pursue a 100% “hodl” strategy since the bull market, Hut 8 Mining (HUT), said last week that it finally gave in and sold 188 bitcoins in February to fund operations.

Operational issues across its bitcoin mining sites are weighing on Hut 8 Mining (HUT) as it tries to complete what would be one of the largest deals in the sector – the company's merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp.

North American crypto miner Hut 8 reported annual revenue of CA$150.7 million ($109 million) — a decrease of CA$23.1 million compared to the previous year — and a 65% increase in bitcoin holdings.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly works its complex magic on one sector of the economy after another, there is an increasingly pressing need for compute resources to power all this machine intelligence.

Crypto exchange FTX’s collapse and overall crypto market turmoil were not key factors in the decision to merge crypto mining firm Hut 8 with US Bitcoin Corp., according to Hut 8 CEO Jamie Leverton. On Feb. 8, Leverton said that the merger was mainly about providing diversified revenue and helping scale the combined businesses, stating:

Major Bitcoin miners Hut 8 Mining and U.S. Bitcoin Corp today announced a merger which will bring the two companies together to create a North America crypto mining giant. 

Canada-based cryptocurrency mining company Hut 8 Mining has announced plans to merge with U.S. Bitcoin to form Hut 8 Corp, or "New Hut".

Bitcoin mining firms Hut 8 Mining (HUT) and U.S. Bitcoin Corp. (USBTC) agreed to merge into a single company with access to about 825 megawatts (MW) of energy capacity.