Zcash miner Fortitude names former Hut 8 chief Jaime Leverton CEO ahead of Nasdaq deal

Fortitude Mining Holdings appointed former Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton as chief executive as the Zcash ($ZEC)-focused miner prepares for a public listing through a proposed combination with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences (HSCS).

Leverton will take the helm on Sept. 21, succeeding Andrea Childs, who will become chief operating officer, the company said in a press release.

Leverton will remain CEO after the deal closes, when the combined company is expected to adopt the Fortitude name and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “TUDE.”

The deal, announced in June, is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to shareholder approval and other customary conditions. Based on HeartSciences’ current share price and the shares expected to be issued to Fortitude owner Digital Currency Group and HeartSciences’ preferred shareholders, the combined company would have an implied valuation of at least $400 million, according to company estimates.

Fortitude was spun out of Foundry’s self-mining business by Digital Currency Group in January 2025.

Leverton most recently led institutional digital-asset manager ReserveOne. She previously served as CEO of bitcoin

miner Hut 8, overseeing its merger with US Bitcoin Corp. and its transition from a Canadian-listed miner into a U.S.-domiciled company with bitcoin mining and high-performance computing operations.

Her appointment comes as Fortitude expands its exposure to Zcash, whose $ZEC token has risen more than 2,000% over the past year. Its market capitalization is roughly $21 billion.

Fortitude mined 72,696 $ZEC during the six months through June, about 28% of the network’s total production during that period. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $20.9 million.

The miner operates more than 60 megawatts of power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York.

“Fortitude is taking a differentiated approach to mining,” Leverton said in the release, pointing to the company’s combination of owned power, mining sites and in-house operations.

The company describes itself as a “venture mining” platform that allocates capital across proof-of-work networks while maintaining a primary focus on Zcash. The company is wholly owned by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group.

Childs said she will concentrate on mining operations, fleet and infrastructure strategy, and industry relationships in her new role as COO.