https://ift.tt/0KCD93c Miner Crusoe Closes $500M Series C Equity Offering

Denver-based Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems has announced closing a $350 million Series C equity offering.

Expansion to the US and internationally, as well as onboarding more employees in the team, are some of the main objectives that Crusoe has following the event.

Crusoe Funding Round

According to the official blog post, Crusoe’s $350 million in equity financing witnessed the participation of G2 Venture Partners and a group of prominent technology, energy, climate, and crypto investors. It received an additional $155 million in corporate credit capacity.

The new capital would help the company’s expansion of Digital Flare Mitigation data centers, which now stand at 86 across the US and other parts of the world. At the same time, the firm wants to remain aligned with the clean computing infrastructure in a bid to minimize both the costs and the environmental impact of the rapidly growing digital economy.

The company also plans to deploy large-scale Bitcoin mining as well as cloud computing infrastructure. The recently added capital is also expected to ramp up the launch of CrusoeCloud™, which happens to be a “High-Performance Computing (HPC) cloud” driven by carbon-reducing energy sources. It also aims to expand its team, hiring at least an estimated 250 employees by the end of 2022. At present, it boasts a group of 157 people.

Chase Lochmiller, CEO and co-founder of Crusoe Energy Systems, stated,

“We are proud to partner with G2 Venture Partners. Their expertise in working with high-growth companies in energy, digital, and climate technologies makes them a perfect fit for the next leg of Crusoe’s journey.

The capital provided in this Series C financing unlocks Crusoe’s ability to execute on key elements of our vision, specifically it enables us to expand and diversify our energy sources, computing workloads, and vertical integration.”

Ben Kortlang, Partner at G2 Venture Partners, believes the funding round will help Crusoe accelerate renewable energy deployment and continue innovating its technology. Reportedly, the company is engaged in a pilot project with Exxon (XOM) to leverage flared gas at its North Dakota oil wells to drive Bitcoin mining operations.

As the financing concludes, G2 Venture Partners will join the Crusoe’s Board of Directors alongside Valor Equity Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, KCK Group, and co-founders Chase Lochmiller and Cully Cavness.

US Lawmakers on Environmental Concerns of Crypto Mining

Elsewhere, the United States House of Representatives member Jared Huffman and almost two dozen of his Democratic colleagues have written a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It focuses on intensifying scrutiny and assess companies associated with crypto mining for potentially contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and not complying with either the Clean Air Act or the Clean Water Act.