By Chris Wack

LM Funding America Inc. said Wednesday it is launching a cryptocurrency mining business by buying 1,000 S19J Pro Miner Machines from Bitmain for $6.3 million.

LM Funding said that for its initial investment of 1,000 machines, its purchase price will range between $6,000 to $6,500 per machine, as compared to $11,000 to $15,000 per machine currently available on the spot market.

LM Funding has established a new subsidiary, US Digital Mining and Hosting Co., to operate the new mining business, and is in the process of establishing a data center to host the pro miner machines. The company expects all 1,000 newly purchased miners to be delivered between the second and third quarter of 2022, and sees the cryptocurrency mining operations beginning as soon as the second quarter of 2022.

LM Funding shares were up 15% to $5.13 in premarket trading.

Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-15-21 0826ET