Fortitude Mining appoints former Hut 8 CEO Leverton ahead of Nasdaq listing

By Khal · · 2 min read

Editorial illustration: A woman in a dark suit stands beside an office chair and rows of mining equipment. A mechanical bridge connects their dark platform to a brightly lit, columned stone building.
AI-generated editorial illustration · AI-generated editorial illustration · Published Sep 17, 2026, 5:08 p.m. (Yesterday)

In brief

  • Leverton succeeded Andrea Childs as CEO on September 21; Childs transitioned to chief operating officer.
  • Fortitude mined 72,696 ZEC in H1 2026, representing 28% of network production.
  • Company operates 60+ megawatts across seven sites, plans Nasdaq listing under ticker TUDE.

Leadership transition and expansion plans

Leverton will succeed Andrea Childs as CEO on September 21, with Childs moving to chief operating officer. At Hut 8, Leverton oversaw the Bitcoin miner's merger with US Bitcoin Corp. and its transition into a US-domiciled Nasdaq-listed company, bringing institutional credibility to a sector often marked by operational opacity.

Fortitude's scale reflects the Zcash network's growing footprint. The company mined 72,696 ZEC in the first half of 2026, accounting for about 28% of the network's total production. Revenue reached $20.9 million for the second quarter.

Fortitude operates more than 60 megawatts of power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York. The company's infrastructure expansion continues. In July, Fortitude agreed to purchase 9,000 Bitmain Antminer Z15 Pro machines, which are expected to add 7.56 GSol/s of equihash hashrate. Shipments are expected in the fourth quarter.

Path to public markets

Fortitude announced its proposed combination with HeartSciences in June, with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker TUDE.

Zcash itself has gained traction in crypto markets. The token has gained about 185% over the past 30 days and more than 2,600% over the past year, trading around $1,424 on Thursday. Institutional interest has grown. Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed that the crypto investment firm holds ZEC and is an investor in the Zcash Open Development Lab.

Huang described Zcash as a "private complement to Bitcoin" and backed its inflation-funded developer fund, arguing that long-term funding for privacy technology is increasingly important as artificial intelligence and quantum computing advance.

Fortitude has mined ZEC since 2019 and launched as a vertically integrated mining platform in 2025, positioning Leverton to oversee the company's institutional maturation as it moves toward public markets.

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