Galaxy mining head exits to consult miners ahead of halving

A longtime crypto mining executive has departed Galaxy Digital. She will now advise miners in preparation for the upcoming bitcoin halving.

Amanda Fabiano spent the last three years as Galaxy’s head of mining. Before that, she was director of bitcoin mining at Fidelity Investments.

“Building upon my earlier experiences at Fidelity, I successfully established a thriving mining business at Galaxy, in the face of challenging market conditions,” Fabiano said in a Tuesday X post. “Now, I’m packaging all that valuable expertise and enthusiasm as I proudly introduce Fabiano Consulting, my inaugural endeavor.”

It is not clear who is set to replace Fabiano in her role. A Galaxy spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Fabiano joined Fidelity in 2014, according to her LinkedIn page — the year the financial services giant started mining bitcoin. Fidelity later launched its institutional crypto custody and trading platform in 2018.

She then joined Galaxy in September 2020, a few months before the company launched its mining business in January 2021. The new unit was designed to be a financial services platform for miners — offering trading and risk management, investing and lending, as well as corporate advisory to players in the segment.

The crypto investment firm also established its own bitcoin mining operation at the time, hosting machines at a third-party data center.

Galaxy’s mining revenue was $15.4 million in the second quarter of 2023, a 51% quarter-over-quarter increase, the company reported in August. Galaxy said it is set to surpass 4 exahash per second (EH/s) of hashrate under management by the end of the year.

Now in a consulting role, Fabiano’s first clients include Compass Mining, where she also serves on the board.

Mining strategies hold “paramount significance” ahead of the next bitcoin halving event set for April 2024. At that time, per-block rewards are reduced from 6.25 bitcoin (BTC) to 3.125 BTC, which is expected to put stress on certain companies in the segment.

“As we witness a continuous rise in hash rate, it becomes imperative for companies to ask the pivotal question: ‘How can I position myself for success in the present market conditions and the post-halving future?’” Fabiano said. “This is the very question that gets me excited. I firmly believe that there’s no shortage of companies wondering this same question.”

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