Fortitude Mining Holdings has appointed former Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton as chief executive, succeeding Andrea Childs, who will become COO, the company announced.
Leverton will take the role on Sept. 21, ahead of the firm's planned transition to a public listing via its proposed merger with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences (HSCS). Following the deal, the combined entity is expected to adopt the Fortitude name and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "TUDE," with Leverton remaining CEO.
The merger, first announced in June, is slated to close in the fourth quarter, pending shareholder approval and customary closing conditions. Based on HeartSciences' current share price and the shares to be issued to Fortitude owner Digital Currency Group and preferred shareholders, the combined company carries an implied valuation of at least $400 million, according to company estimates.
Fortitude was spun out of Foundry's self-mining division by Digital Currency Group in January 2025. It is wholly owned by Barry Silbert's DCG.
Under Leverton's predecessor, Fortitude established itself as the largest Zcash miner globally, producing approximately 72,696 ZEC during the six months through June — roughly 28% of the network's total output in that period. Second-quarter revenue came in at $20.9 million. The miner operates more than 60 megawatts of power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York.
Zcash's ZEC token has risen more than 2,000% over the past year, pushing its market capitalization to roughly $21 billion.
Leverton most recently led institutional digital-asset manager ReserveOne. Previously, she served as CEO of Hut 8, overseeing its merger with US Bitcoin Corp. and the company's transition from a Canadian-listed miner into a U.S.-domiciled operation with bitcoin mining and high-performance computing businesses. She succeeded Childs, who will now focus on mining operations, fleet and infrastructure strategy, and industry relationships as COO.
Leverton described Fortitude's approach as "differentiated" in a statement, pointing to the company's combination of owned power, mining sites and in-house operations. The firm positions itself as a "venture mining" platform that allocates capital across proof-of-work networks while maintaining a primary focus on Zcash.
