Zcash Mining Exposure Comes to Wall Street as Fortitude Targets Nasdaq Listing
Fortitude Mining Holdings and Heartsciences have agreed to an all-stock business combination that would bring a DCG-owned Zcash (ZEC) mining platform to the Nasdaq Capital Market under the proposed ticker TUDE. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including Heartsciences shareholder approval.
After closing, the combined company is expected to operate under the Fortitude brand. Fortitude CEO Andrea Childs is slated to lead the combined entity, while current Heartsciences CEO Andrew Simpson will continue leading the healthcare business unit. Heartsciences already trades on Nasdaq under the symbol HSCS.
Fortitude is currently wholly owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG) and describes itself as a vertically integrated digital asset mining platform centered on Zcash. Under the deal terms, DCG is expected to own about 95% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis at closing. The company believes Fortitude would become the first publicly traded venture mining platform with a track record of identifying early-stage proof-of-work opportunities.
Zcash, launched in 2016 from Bitcoin’s codebase, has a fixed 21 million coin supply and combines proof-of-work mining with optional privacy features through shielded transactions. DCG founder Barry Silbert said, ‘Zcash is a clear example of Fortitude’s venture mining model in action: early conviction in an important protocol, paired with the infrastructure required to support and scale it.’
Fortitude began mining ZEC in 2019 and has scaled annualized production to 157,000 ZEC, or about 366 ZEC per day, as of May 31, 2026. The company reported ZEC delivered a trailing 12-month return of over 1,000% as of June 15, 2026. This price performance gives the transaction a sharper market angle than a standard mining merger.
For traders, the deal creates a public-equity proxy tied to Zcash mining economics, ZEC price action, network hashrate, power costs, and Fortitude’s ability to keep production costs below market value. Fortitude’s model combines hardware procurement, infrastructure deployment, R&D, and a long-term Zcash position. It also owns data center capacity backed by competitive long-term power contracts.
Childs remarked that public-company status could provide ‘flexibility and access to capital’ to accelerate the venture mining platform. Zcash mining operates on the Equihash proof-of-work algorithm with a target block time of about 75 seconds. As of June 2026, the block reward is 1.5625 ZEC, with the next halving expected in late 2028. Recent network hashrate estimates stood around 17.22 GS/s, with Equihash ASICs dominating production.
Heartsciences said Fortitude stood out after reviewing multiple potential transactions during 2025. Simpson noted the combination gives shareholders continued ownership in a scaled business while allowing the company to advance Myovista Insights and its AI-enabled ECG technology.
Canaccord Genuity and Ducera Partners are advising Fortitude, with Ropes & Gray as legal counsel. Foley Shechter Ablovatskiy is legal counsel to Heartsciences, while Houlihan Capital acted as special financial adviser to Heartsciences.