Riot Platforms Acquires Block Mining for $92.5M, Eyeing 100 EH/s

Contents

Riot Becomes the World’s Third-Largest Mining Firm Diversification and a Step Towards 100 EH/s Final Thoughts References Our Editorial Process

Riot Platforms, operating two Bitcoin ($BTC) mining sites in Texas, acquired another two facilities from Block Mining, a Kentucky firm.
With the acquisition, Riot aims to achieve its 100 exahashes per second (EH/s) target.
Currently, Riot Platforms is the world’s third-largest $BTC mining firm with a 22 EH/s deployment rate, outpaced by Marathon Digital Holdings’ 31.5 EH/s.

Riot Platforms Acquires Block Mining for $92.5M, Eyeing 100 EH/s with a 60 MW Capacity Gain

Riot Platforms, one of the global leaders in Bitcoin ($BTC) mining infrastructure, acquired Kentucky-based Block Mining for $92.5M, with $18.5M in cash and $74M in Riot stock. Block Mining could acquire another $32.5M in 2025 by securing additional power contracts.

“The acquisition of Block Mining marks a significant milestone for Riot as we continue to expand our growth pipeline,” said @JasonLes_, CEO of Riot. “This transaction allows us to diversify our operations nationally and accelerate Block Mining’s expansion in Kentucky. With a… https://t.co/vlt648TLDo pic.twitter.com/M2B2GyyyzL

— Riot Platforms, Inc. (@RiotPlatforms) July 23, 2024

Let’s explore the deal’s details.

Riot Becomes the World’s Third-Largest Mining Firm

Riot Platforms operates two of North America’s largest $BTC mining facilities in Texas with an aggregate capacity of 1.1 gigawatts (GW).

The Rockdale facility has a hash rate of 14.7 EH/s and employs 250 staff, while the Corsicana site operates at 7.3 EH/s with 135 local employees.

Riot Platforms’ hash rate soared by 50% in June and surpassed CleanSpark and Core Scientific, both reporting hash rates of over 20 EH/s.

Currently, the company ranks third among $BTC miners globally by market cap, nipping at the heels of CleanSpark but significantly outpaced by Marathon Digital Holdings.

The world’s largest $BTC mining companies

The hash rate increase helped Riot mine 255 $BTC in June, a nearly 20% increase from May. However, it still represents a 44% drop year-to-date.

The company held all the $BTC it mined in June, bringing its total holdings to 9.3K $BTC, worth approximately $600M at the current price of $64,287 per token.

Diversification and a Step Towards 100 EH/s

Block Mining operates two sites with a combined capacity of 60 megawatts (MW) and a maximum capacity of 150 MW. Currently, Block Mining uses 23 MW for self-mining, leases 18 MW to mining tenants under hosting agreements, and the remaining 19 MW are vacant.

Of the 18 MW allocated for hosting agreements, Riot will be able to use 8 MW for self-mining in two to three months. Moreover, Riot intends to increase the site capacity to 110 MW by the end of the year.

With the acquisition, Riot achieves several goals:

Geographical diversification of Riot’s operations to reduce reliance on a single region
Increased mining capacity and a major step toward the 100 EH/s target
Access to new power markets through Block Mining’s existing operations, particularly a long-term fixed-price agreement with MicroBT
Team expansion with experienced management and operational personnel from Block Mining.

The deal immediately adds 1 EH/s to Riot’s current hash rate, with the potential to add 16 EH/s by the end of 2025, bringing the cumulative deployment rate to 38 EH/s.

Block Mining CEO Michael Stolzner highlights that Riot Platforms shares the company’s vision for energy-efficient $BTC mining and team values.

Final Thoughts

Beyond immediate capacity gains, the Block Mining acquisition unlocks strategic benefits for Riot. It solidifies Riot’s position on the $BTC mining playfield and brings it closer to its ambitious 100 EH/s target.

Marathon Digital Holdings’ recent contract breach resulted in a $138M fine and could hinder its ability to expand operations. This opens a window of opportunity for Riot to increase its market share and potentially become the world’s number one BTC mining firm.

References

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not constitute financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research and determine their own risk tolerance before making any financial decisions. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, high-risk asset class.

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