Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms generated 215 BTC in May, marking a 43% decline from the previous month. This drop in mining revenue is a direct result of the Bitcoin halving that took place on April 20, reducing mining rewards to 3.125 BTC.
In anticipation of this decrease, Riot had already planned an infrastructure upgrade to maintain Bitcoin production post-halving. In May, the company unveiled a new Bitcoin mining facility in Corsicana, Texas, adding 3.1 exahashes per second (EH/s) to their capacity. This brought Riot’s total self-mining capacity to 14.7 EH/s, a 17% increase from the previous month.
Currently operating at 100 megawatts (MW), the mining facility is expected to scale up to 1 gigawatt (1,000 MWs) once fully developed. Riot’s infrastructure development roadmap aims for a total hash rate capacity of 31 EH/s by the end of 2024 and 41 EH/s by 2025. To achieve this, the company has entered into a long-term agreement with MicroBT for the purchase of 33,280 miners for the new facility.
Riot’s strategies are focused on ensuring profitability, especially during bear markets. In addition to upgrading to more efficient mining equipment to reduce operational costs, Riot has implemented a new power strategy. CEO Jason Les stated, “Riot’s unique power strategy, which we typically employ most actively in the summer months, has already started to demonstrate significant results for this year, generating approximately $7.3 million in power and demand response credits in May.”
On May 28, Riot Platforms made an offer to acquire its competitor, Bitfarms, at a premium over its share price. As Bitfarms’ largest shareholder with a 9.25% stake, Riot proposed a combination of cash and common stock totaling $950 million in equity value for shareholders, representing a 24% premium over Bitfarms’ one-month volume-weighted average share price as of May 24. This offer comes at a time when Bitfarms is undergoing a management transition in search of a new CEO.
It is clear that cryptocurrency enthusiasts are already making their mark on the 2024 election, and this trend is likely to continue.