Riot Blockchain Buys 66,560 Bitcoin Mining Rigs in $290.5 Million Deal with MicroBT

Last updated: December 5, 2023 01:45 EST
. 3 min read

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Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain has announced its purchase of 66,560 bitcoin mining rigs from MicroBT, marking one of the largest orders in the company’s history.

Riot Blockchain is set to acquire 66,560 Bitcoin miners from manufacturer MicroBT in one of its largest orders of hash rate, totaling $290.5 million, with an average cost of $4,360 per machine. The new order is an extension of Riot’s initial agreement with MicroBT, where it agreed to buy 33,280 machines in June. The updated agreement now provides Riot with options to purchase up to 265,000 additional miners from MicroBT under the same terms as the recent order.

$Riot Exercises Purchase Option on 18 EH/s of Latest Generation Immersion Miners from MicroBT, and Secures Additional Purchase Options Providing a Path to Exceed 100 EH/s.

– Riot places order for 18 EH/s of latest generation MicroBT Bitcoin miners, primarily consisting of the… pic.twitter.com/tEEudV6Z8n

— Riot Platforms, Inc. (@RiotPlatforms) December 4, 2023

The new miners, primarily consisting of MicroBT’s M66S model with a hash rate of 250 terahashes per second (TH/s), will add 18 exahashes per second (EH/s) to Riot’s operations. The deployment schedule includes the previously announced order of 33,280 MicroBT miners, set to begin deployment in the first quarter of 2024, and the new order of 66,560 additional miners, with delivery and deployment starting in the second half of 2024.

By the second half of 2025, the deployment of all miners under the current purchase orders is expected to be completed. Notably, the new miners will be manufactured in the United States and purpose-built for immersion cooling. The average price for all miners in the deal is approximately $16 per terahash.

Riot’s CEO, Jason Les, noted that this purchase order represents the largest order of hash rate in the company’s history. He said,

“This purchase order and updated Agreement ensure that we will continue to own and operate one of the largest and most efficient Bitcoin mining fleets in the world.”

Notably, the agreement aims to strengthen Riot’s mining performance. Of the newly acquired machines, 72% will be MicroBT’s latest model, the M66S, and the remaining machines include the M66 (14,770) and M56S++ (3,720) models.

Riot anticipates reaching a self-mining hash rate capacity of 38 EH/s once all 99,840 rigs are fully installed and operational. The company cited the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in April 2024 as a key factor influencing its recent buying spree. According to Nasdaq, Riot’s stock (ticker: RIOT) increased nearly 9% on December 4, bringing its total gains to over 345% for the year 2023.

Riot Blockchain Reports Improved Q3 Results Despite Missing Estimates

On November 9, Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain released its financial report for the third quarter, revealing notable improvements despite falling short of earnings and sales estimates.

During Q3, Riot Platforms produced 1,106 bitcoins, reflecting an increase compared to the same period in 2022, when it generated 1,042 bitcoins. The rise in Bitcoin production was attributed to an increase in deployed miners. However, it was partially offset by higher curtailment due to the company’s power strategy and the growing difficulty of the Bitcoin network.

Riot Platforms experienced a significant surge in total revenue, reaching $51.9 million compared to $46.3 million in the same period in 2022. This increase was driven by higher Bitcoin production and elevated average Bitcoin prices, which averaged $28,230 per bitcoin for the quarter—a 33% increase compared to the previous year.

However, the company missed the analyst consensus estimate for revenue, falling short by 33.03% with a total revenue of $51.9 million. The average cost to mine Bitcoin for Riot Platforms improved, standing at $6,141 during Q3, compared to $8,227 per Bitcoin in the same period in 2022.

Riot Platforms also earned $49.6 million in power curtailment credits, a substantial increase from the $13.1 million earned in the same quarter of the previous year. As of late September, Riot has $442.3 million in working capital, including $290.1 million in cash and 7,327 unencumbered Bitcoins, valued at approximately $197.6 million based on a market price of $26,968 per coin.