DCG-Backed Miner Takes the Reverse Merger Route Fortitude Mining Holdings, the Zcash mining platform wholly owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG), has agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed Heart
Fortitude Mining Holdings, the Zcash mining platform wholly owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG), has agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences (HSCS) in an all-stock transaction. The combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "TUDE" and the deal is targeted to close in the second half of 2026.
The merger is structured as an all-stock deal, giving Fortitude a Nasdaq listing without a traditional initial public offering.Fortitude's management team will take control of the combined company, while existing HeartSciences shareholders will retain a minority ownership stake after the merger closes.DCG will hold approximately 95% ownership post-merger.
Upon completion, Fortitude believes it will be the first publicly traded venture mining platform with a track record of identifying high-conviction, early-stage proof-of-work opportunities.HeartSciences CEO Andrew Simpson will continue to lead the healthcare business unit, while Fortitude CEO Andrea Childs will head the combined company's leadership team.
Fortitude began mining ZEC, the native token of the Zcash network, in 2019 and has scaled its annualised production to 157,000 ZEC, approximately 366 ZEC per day, as of May 31, 2026. The company operates six sites with 48 megawatts of owned power capacity and plans to grow that to 80 megawatts by the end of 2026. Fortitude reported $90 million in gross revenue in fiscal 2025 on a debt-free balance sheet.
Launched in 2016 from Bitcoin's codebase, Zcash shares Bitcoin's defining attributes, including a fixed 21 million coin supply, while adding robust privacy technology.Zcash delivered a trailing twelve-month return of approximately 1,000% as of June 15, 2026.
The public listing is intended to give Fortitude access to capital markets to expand its proof-of-work mining platform, according to CEO Andrea Childs. The listing offers investors a public equity opportunity tied to ZEC price, mining difficulty, and production costs, with Fortitude leveraging its vertically integrated mining platform and long-term power contracts to maintain competitive costs.
Sources:Fortitude and HeartSciences announce business combination (BusinessWire)HeartSciences Form 8-K filing, Exhibit 99.1 (SEC.gov)Fortitude and HeartSciences announce merger to form public Zcash mining platform (RTTNews)
