Once Bankrupt Core Scientific Mines $1.4B Worth Bitcoin In 2023

Blockchain and AI infrastructure company Core Scientific announced Tuesday that it mined over 19,000 Bitcoin in 2023, following its rise from bankruptcy earlier this year.

In its full fiscal year 2023 report, the Austin-based crypto mining firm said it mined a total of 19,274 Bitcoin (worth approximately $1.4 billion based on current prices).

The company self mined over 13,000 BTCs for its own account on top of "an estimated 5,512 for our hosting clients' accounts."

The massive Bitcoin haul positions the company, which owns and manages 724 megawatts of infrastructure, for continued strong performance this year, said Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan.

"We own and operate the larges Bitcoin mining infrastructure in the industry in terms of operating megawatts, and we have demonstrated superior hash rate utilization," he said. He also said the company believes its growth plan and diversified platform provides the firm with the ability to "refresh our fleet with more efficient miners."

Speaking about the setbacks Core Scientific went through in the past, Sullivan said "we have now emerged from our restructuring a stronger, more focused and more productive company with a plan for self-mining growth."

Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late in 2022, when Bitcoin prices plummeted to around $16,000. Ahead of its bankruptcy filing, it warned of a serious cash burn, saying it won't be able to fulfil equipment payments due for late October and early November. Also at the time, the company only held 24 Bitcoin and some $26 million in cash.

The company received approval for its Chapter 11 reorganization from the Southern District of Texas bankruptcy court in January, with a plan that states existing shareholders will gain about 60% of the revamped firm's equity.

At the time, Sullivan said the approval was a "defining moment" for Core Scientific as it was poised to emerge at the end of January as a stronger crypto mining company. He noted that demand for Bitcoin has been rising, giving motivation for the team to execute its growth plan.

Core Scientific started trading again on Nasdaq after its reorganization and said it was looking to expand its mining capacity further by 50% within the next four years.

During the peak of the bull market in 2021, Bitcoin prices shot up to $60,000, and Core Scientific was the largest publicly-traded miner by computing power. It had 143,000 mining rigs that allowed the company to leverage the BTC uptrend.