Digital Currency Group's bitcoin mining subsidiary, Fortitude, has taken major steps toward becoming a publicly traded company while simultaneously expanding its altcoin mining capabilities. On July 29, Fortitude filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences, a medical technology firm. The merger would allow Fortitude to bypass a traditional IPO and gain a direct listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker "TUDE," pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Just a day later, on July 30, Fortitude announced a $31.5 million order for 9,000 Bitmain Antminer Z15 Pro ASIC miners, a purchase that will more than double its previously disclosed Zcash mining capacity. The new machines, expected to ship in two batches—3,000 in October and the remaining 6,000 in November—will add 7.56 GSOL/s of hashrate, increasing Fortitude's Zcash mining fleet by 145% to approximately 12.8 GSol/s. At current network hashrate, that could represent over half of the Zcash network's total computing power, although the final share will depend on other miners' activity.
The miners will be deployed across Fortitude's seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, and New York, which draw on more than 60 MW of contracted power. This buildout follows the recent energization of a new 12 MW facility in Grand Island, Nebraska. In the first half of 2026, Fortitude reported mining 72,696 ZEC—roughly 28% of total Zcash production—valued at about $34.5 million.
The SEC filing and the hardware purchase underscore Fortitude's aggressive expansion and the growing professionalization of the bitcoin mining sector. A successful public debut could unlock value for DCG, which has faced headwinds from the Genesis bankruptcy, and signal further integration of crypto mining with traditional financial markets.
For the Zcash community, the concentration of such a large portion of hashrate in one entity raises questions about network centralization, even as it reflects confidence in the asset's long-term viability.
