ZEC Mining: Fortitude Commits Up to $100M to Expand

Fortitude Mining Holdings has signed a letter of intent with BITMAIN for priority access to up to $100 million worth of next-generation Zcash mining equipment that has not yet been commercially released. The agreement requires a refundable deposit equal to 20% of the commitment, or $20 million, which Fortitude plans to borrow this week from parent Digital Currency Group in ZEC.

Fortitude currently operates about 4.7 GSol/s of Equihash hashrate and says it has more than 60 MW of contracted power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York. The company was spun out of DCG's Foundry self-mining operation in January 2025 and has since focused on a broader venture-mining platform anchored in Zcash.

Why it matters

The LOI would give Fortitude priority access to equipment for expanding its ZEC mining fleet, but it is not a completed purchase of commercially available machines. The company already has a separate order for 9,000 BITMAIN Antminer Z15 Pro machines, agreed in July for about $31.5 million, which would add 7.56 GSol/s of capacity.

Fortitude's financing has also expanded. DCG increased the company's credit facility to $70 million from $50 million, leaving about $42.7 million in remaining borrowing capacity, according to the statement. The planned $20 million deposit would therefore draw on financing from its parent, with the borrowing denominated in ZEC.

Market impact

The commitment signals Fortitude's intention to scale its exposure to Zcash mining, building on both its current hashrate and the Z15 Pro order. The announced figures describe operating capacity, contracted power and planned equipment access; the new equipment has not yet reached commercial release.

ZEC traded above $1,300 on Tuesday, up 2.7% over 24 hours. The price move and Fortitude's expansion plans are separate data points: the LOI does not establish how much additional equipment will ultimately be delivered or when. Fortitude CEO Jaime Leverton said priority allocation, its existing operations and the earlier Z15 Pro order position the company to expand as the hardware becomes available.