Bitcoin Miner Stronghold Restructures Debt to Improve Liquidity

Bitcoin miner Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc. said it has reached an agreement with lender WhiteHawk Finance to push back debt payments.

(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin miner Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc. said it has reached an agreement with lender WhiteHawk Finance to push back debt payments. 

The Kennerdell, Pennsylvania-based company is the latest crypto miner that’s been able to negotiate new terms with lenders to delay debt repayment amid a sustained rally in Bitcoin prices. Public crypto-mining companies such as Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. and TeraWulf, Inc. were able to improve their loan terms in recent weeks. 

Stronghold said Tuesday in a statement that it amended a credit agreement from Oct. 27 with WhiteHawk that gave the miner $20 million of additional borrowing capacity. That 36-month secured note restructured previous mining equipment financing agreements. 

The new agreement gives Stronghold a five month “amortization holiday.” Stronghold was required to pay monthly principal amortization through June 2024. Under the terms of the deal, that’s no longer the case.

“Following a five-month complete amortization holiday, beginning June 30, 2023, at the end of each month, Stronghold will repay the principal amount of debt outstanding through a monthly cash sweep calculated as 50% of the average daily cash balance for the month in excess of $7.5 million.” the company said in the statement.

 

If Stronghold’s average daily cash balance during a month is less than $5 million, the company may “pay interest in kind,” meaning interests will be included in principal. WhiteHawk also has a slew of requirements for the miner’s liquidity, including being below a certain debt-to-earnings ratio at the end of each quarter, beginning on Sept. 30, 2024.  

The minimum allowable liquidity, defined as unrestricted cash plus Bitcoin, at any given time, is $2.5 million through March 31, 2024, $5.0 million from April 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024, and $7.5 million thereafter, according to the statement.

Shares of Stronghold tumbled 96% last year. They’ve increased around 17% to 56 cents since December. 

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