Zcash miner Fortitude Mining Holdings has secured a path to the public markets through an all-stock merger with HeartSciences, a transaction that will put the crypto mining company on the Nasdaq without a traditional IPO.
Summary
- Fortitude will go public through an all-stock merger with Nasdaq-listed HeartSciences.
- Shares of HeartSciences jumped 91% after the deal was announced.
- The deal comes as renewed attention to Zcash fuels interest in privacy-focused crypto companies.
According to a joint announcement released Tuesday, Fortitude and HeartSciences have agreed to partner in a deal that will leave Fortitude’s management team in control of the combined company. The company is expected to operate under the name Fortitude and trade on Nasdaq under the symbol TUDE, subject to regulatory approvals.
Under the terms of the transaction, existing HeartSciences shareholders will retain a minority stake. HeartSciences, which develops AI-based cardiac diagnostic technologies, will continue to operate under the leadership of chief executive Andrew Simpson.
Explaining the move, Simpson said the merger would help eliminate what he described as the “constant cycle of capital raising” while delivering what the company believes is the most favorable outcome for shareholders.
Although the two companies operate in unrelated industries, the structure effectively gives Fortitude access to the public stock markets through a company already listed on Nasdaq.
For HeartSciences, the deal provides continued exposure to a publicly traded entity while allowing its healthcare operations to remain active.
Fortitude obtains public listing without IPO
Rather than pursuing a conventional stock market debut, Fortitude is following a path that several crypto companies have already used to reach public investors. According to the companies, the transaction is structured as a merger that will result in Fortitude taking over the public listing.
Similar approaches have been used elsewhere in the sector. Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific entered the public markets through a SPAC merger in 2022, while Cipher Mining also became publicly traded through a merger-based structure instead of a traditional IPO.
The reaction of investors was immediate. Shares of HeartSciences, which continue to trade under the ticker HSCS until trading closes, soared 91% during Tuesday’s session, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
The announcement comes at a time when interest in Zcash and privacy-focused cryptocurrencies has increased. Recent discussions around the European Union’s planned anti-money laundering framework and the proposed cap on cash payments of €10,000 (around $11,500) have focused renewed attention on privacy-preserving digital assets.
Earlier this month, according to public comments shared on social media, Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz described Zcash as one of the most privacy-focused crypto networks. His remarks come as market participants debate how future compliance requirements could affect cryptocurrency users in Europe.
HeartSciences remains loss-making as Zcash production increases
Financially, the two companies approach the merger from very different positions.
According to MarketScreener data, HeartSciences remained loss-making in fiscal 2025, posting a net loss of $8.77 million, compared to a loss of $6.61 million a year earlier. The company generated limited revenue during the period but continued to develop its health products.
In fiscal 2025, HeartSciences launched its MyoVista Insights software platform, which the company says is designed to modernize existing ECG management systems.
Fortitude, meanwhile, has disclosed little financial information because they remain a private company. Despite this, the company reported that its annualized production reached 157,000 Zcash as of May 31.
According to data from crypto.news, Zcash (ZEC) was trading at nearly $417 per token, with a market cap of around $6.99 billion at the time of writing.
