Shares of the Toronto-based Bitcoin miner were up more than 18 per cent Friday after announcing it had completed the merger with its Miami-based former competitor a day earlier. (The Logic)

Talking point: In an interview with The Logic, Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton said she felt “relieved and excited” to have finally closed the deal, 10 months after it was first announced and two months later than the company anticipated. Leverton said the decision to domicile the combined company in the U.S. slowed the process down, since it meant getting approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ultimately, she said she’s glad the company proceeded with the merger and the legal relocation at the same time—“I think we made the right decision to get everything done at once,” she said. Hut 8 took on a loan of up to US$50 million from Coinbase and sold Bitcoin it produced in 2023 to fund operations while the merger dragged on.