Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq | TSX: HUT), a leading Bitcoin mining company, has expanded its partnership with BITMAIN Technologies Ltd., the world’s largest producer of Bitcoin mining servers, to launch the U3S21EXPH, a next-generation ASIC miner. This model will be the first mass-commercialized miner to feature direct liquid-to-chip (DLC) cooling within a U form factor.

Hut 8 plans to deploy the new miner in the second quarter of 2025, with an initial hosting agreement handling approximately 15 exahash per second (EH/s). This hosting deployment, facilitated by custom-built data center infrastructure developed in-house by Hut 8, is a key part of the company’s strategy to expand its computing power across Bitcoin mining and AI compute sectors.

“Our partnership with BITMAIN has allowed us to advance our thinking on ASIC compute and create a more scalable model for data center design as we expand our footprint,” said Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8. “The U3S21EXPH will be the first miner from BITMAIN broadly commercialized with DLC cooling within a U form factor, making it rack-ready like traditional data center hardware. This innovation bridges critical engineering gaps between Bitcoin mining and AI data center infrastructure in both form factor and cooling technology, and we believe this convergence will enable us to unlock significant synergies and flexibility going forward.”

The U3S21EXPH can achieve an efficiency of 13 joules per terahash, producing up to 860 terahash. It uses DLC cooling, a technology traditionally reserved for high-performance computing (HPC) data centers, to make Bitcoin mining more energy efficient and scalable.

"Asher and Mike have been invaluable thought partners to BITMAIN since the early days of US Bitcoin Corp, where they demonstrated a unique focus on cost-efficient procurement and operations,” said Irene Gao, Vice President of Mining at BITMAIN. “Hut 8’s technical expertise, operating strength, and track record of innovation made this partnership a natural evolution of our relationship as we began the journey of developing next-generation ASIC technology.”

The commercial agreement between Hut 8 and BITMAIN includes a fixed hosting fee and a purchase option for Hut 8 to buy the hosted machines in up to three tranches. This structure allows Hut 8 to assess market conditions before making further investments, minimizing financial risk. If Hut 8 exercises this purchase option, its self-mining capacity could grow from 5.6 EH/s to 20.6 EH/s.

The SEC has requested for a New York court to grant them a 4-month extension to produce documents for its Coinbase lawsuit. The regulator asked for an extension until February 2025 to review “at least 133,582 unique documents” as part of discovery motions against the crypto exchange.

SEC lawyers issued the filing on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Previously, the regulator was expected to bring forth documents by October 18th. “The SEC is undertaking a review of at least 133,582 unique documents,” said the filing. “The requested extension will provide the SEC the necessary time to comply with the Court’s Order.”

Back in June, Coinbase filed lawsuits against the SEC and FDIC. The exchange accused the two of trying to cut out the crypto industry from the banking sector. The SEC has been a strong opponent of the growing popularity of cryptocurrency. It approved the launch of crypto ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum after bringing forth many hurdles and doubts. US lawmakers have been criticized previously for their loose leash on how the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the crypto industry. Coinbase’s lawsuit amplifies the voices of many in the industry looking to end the regulator’s strong grasp on

Also Read: Cryptocurrency: Top 2 Crypto “Dark Horses” To Spike 200% By Sept’ End

Judge Katherine Failla of New York will ultimately have the final say on if the extension is granted. If granted, the SEC could have until February 18 to produce documents related to fact discovery against Coinbase. Expert discovery, including depositions and related documents, would meanwhile have a deadline of April 22. A jury trial, if moved forward by both parties, wouldn’t come till 2025 at the current pace.