DCG’s Fortitude Mining to Go Public Through HeartSciences Merger
Fortitude Mining, a Digital Currency Group-owned mining business focused on Zcash and other proof-of-work digital assets, plans to go public through an all-stock merger with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences Inc., giving the crypto miner a public-market listing as it looks to expand its venture-mining strategy.
The combined company is expected to operate under the Fortitude brand and trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker “TUDE,” subject to Nasdaq approval, the companies said Tuesday. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending customary conditions including approval by HeartSciences shareholders.
DCG, Fortitude’s sole stockholder, is expected to own about 95% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis after the deal closes. Fortitude CEO Andrea Childs will lead the combined company, while HeartSciences CEO Andrew Simpson is expected to continue running the healthcare business unit.
The deal offers Fortitude a route to the public markets at a time when crypto mining companies are increasingly being valued not only for their token production, but also for their power portfolios and data center infrastructure. Fortitude said its strategy is anchored in Zcash, a privacy-focused proof-of-work cryptocurrency that launched in 2016 from Bitcoin’s codebase and shares Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million-coin supply.
Fortitude began mining ZEC, Zcash’s native token, in 2019 and said it had scaled annualized production to 157,000 ZEC, or about 366 ZEC a day, as of May 31. The company said Zcash had delivered a trailing 12-month return of more than 1,000% as of June 15.
Fortitude describes its model as “venture mining,” deploying capital and infrastructure into proof-of-work networks where it sees early-stage or high-conviction opportunities. Its business includes mining hardware procurement, infrastructure development, research and development, and a power portfolio backed by long-term contracts.
“As a public company, we anticipate having the flexibility and access to capital to accelerate our core venture mining platform and continue pursuing high-return opportunities in the Proof-of-Work ecosystem, including our long-standing position in Zcash,” Childs said in the statement.
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of DCG, said Zcash combines Bitcoin-like scarcity and proof-of-work discipline with privacy and security features that he expects to become more important as financial systems move further on-chain.
The merger would also mark another step in DCG’s reshaping of its mining operations. Fortitude was launched in 2025 as a standalone mining subsidiary after being spun out of Foundry, DCG’s mining and staking infrastructure business.
HeartSciences, currently traded under the ticker HSCS, develops AI-enabled electrocardiography technology. Simpson said the Fortitude transaction gives HeartSciences shareholders continued ownership in a scaled business while allowing the company to keep advancing its MyoVista Insights and AI-enabled ECG technology “with greater focus.”
HeartSciences shares rose sharply after the announcement Tuesday, with heavy intraday trading volume, reflecting the market’s reaction to the proposed shift from a small-cap medical technology company into a crypto mining-led public company.
