Zcash miner Fortitude to go public via Nasdaq reverse merger with HeartSciences
In brief
- Fortitude Mining merges with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences in all-stock reverse merger, gaining public market access under ticker TUDE
- HeartSciences shareholders retain minority ownership in combined company led by Fortitude's management team
- Fortitude scaled annualized Zcash production to 157,000 ZEC as of May 31, with ZEC trading near $413 per token
- HeartSciences launched MyoVista Insights cardiac diagnostics software in fiscal 2025 despite consecutive net losses
The deal structure
Fortitude Mining Holdings is merging with HeartSciences in what amounts to a reverse merger — a mechanism where a private company gains Nasdaq listing by combining with an existing public shell. Fortitude's management will assume control of the combined entity, while existing HeartSciences shareholders will retain a minority ownership stake.
The move echoes a pattern in crypto mining. Bitcoin miner Core Scientific listed via SPAC in 2022, and Cipher Mining also went public through similar means. Reverse mergers offer faster public access than traditional IPOs, though they carry regulatory scrutiny.
Why HeartSciences needed the deal
HeartSciences has reported net losses for consecutive years and has yet to achieve meaningful commercial revenue. Its net loss widened to $8.77 million in fiscal 2025 from $6.61 million a year earlier.
The company did launch MyoVista Insights, a software platform designed to modernize ECG management systems, in fiscal 2025. Still, the path to profitability remained uncertain.
HeartSciences CEO Andrew Simpson framed the rationale plainly: the merger would free the company from "the constant cycle of raising capital."
Fortitude's mining operation
Fortitude had scaled annualized Zcash production to 157,000 ZEC as of May 31. Zcash was trading at approximately $413 per token at the time of publication.
The pairing of a Zcash miner with a healthcare diagnostics firm is unconventional. It reflects how reverse mergers can combine otherwise unrelated businesses when one needs capital and the other needs public listing access.
Market reaction
HeartSciences shares rose as much as 91% on Tuesday following the announcement. The spike suggests investors viewed the deal as a path to monetization for the struggling healthcare company.
