Bitcoin miner burns through millions in BTC to buy compute, but new coins are not returning to treasury

BitFuFu, a Bitcoin miner and cloud-mining provider, reported a 55.4% rebound in August production as additional capacity came online. Cloud-mining customers accounted for about three quarters of the extra output, while the company's Bitcoin holdings increased by 59 BTC.The unaudited Sept. 3 operating update put total production at 174 BTC, up from 112 BTC in July. Cloud-mining production rose from 40 to 86 BTC, contributing 46 BTC of the 62 BTC increase. Self-mining added the remaining 16 BTC, rising from 72 to 88 BTC.That split matters for shareholders assessing BitFuFu's decision to spend Bitcoin on future mining capacity. The company defines cloud output as Bitcoin produced by customers using purchased hashrate. Those coins are excluded from BitFuFu's holdings. Customer activity supports a separately reported revenue business, but its production cannot be counted as company treasury replenishment.Capacity arrives, reserves partly recoverBitFuFu ended August with 1,373 BTC, up 59 BTC from July's 1,314 BTC. Both balances include 44 BTC pledged for loans and miner procurement payables. The increase in holdings is a net balance change, distinct from the 88 BTC produced through self-...