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Winds Of Change: Bitcoin Miner Riot Sees Substantial Increase In BTC Holdings

Bitcoin mining has been up by a considerable fraction this year, as the blockchain network recorded a new all-time high in hash rate in the second quarter of the year. Mining revenue is also up, as the bitcoin Bitcoin recorded a spike in transaction volume. 

As a result, Riot Blockchain, one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies in the US, has recorded an increase in operations in the second quarter. According to its 2023 second-quarter financial results, the mining company recorded a new all-time record hash while ramping up its Bitcoin mining operations.

Solid Second Quarter 2023

According to its financial report, Riot has seriously ramped up its Bitcoin mining operations. As a result, the mining company produced 1,775 BTC during the second quarter of 2023, a 27% increase compared to the 1,395 BTC it produced during that same period in 2022. 

In May 2023 alone, the company produced 676 BTC at an average of 21.8 BTC per day. The average cost to mine each bitcoin was $8,389, beating Q2 2022’s average of $11,316.

Riot also witnessed an increase in mining revenue, as Bitcoin miners generated a remarkable total revenue of $2.4 billion. Although the price of Bitcoin during the quarter was 15% less than what it was in Q2 2022, Riot saw a total revenue of $76.7 million, as compared to $72.9 million in Q2 2022. Mining revenue ($49.7 million), engineering revenue ($19.3 million), data hosting revenue ($7.7 million), and power curtailment credits ($13.5 million) were also higher than in Q2 2022. 

Not only has RIOT’s revenue from bitcoin mining increased, but their actual bitcoin holdings have also grown substantially. As of June 30, Riot held 7,264 BTC with the price of each BTC at $30,477.

In total, Riot finished the quarter with $408.4 million in working capital, including $289.2 million in cash on hand and $221.4 million in Bitcoin, while also reducing its net loss to $27.7 million compared to $353.6 million in Q2 2022.

Bitcoin (BTC) price chart from Tradingview.com (Riot Blockchain)

Increase In Bitcoin Mining Power

Riot Blockchain also drastically increased its hash rate throughout the quarter, reaching an all-time record hash rate capacity of 10.7 EH/s. However, the company is also looking to enhance its computational power. 

During the quarter, the company signed a long-term purchase agreement with MicroBT to acquire 33,280 next-generation miners. With an expanded mining fleet and facility, Riot believes it can see its hash rate grow to 20.1 EH/s by the second quarter of 2024. 

Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process. However, Riot’s power strategy contributes to the stability of the energy grid in Texas at times of high demand by selling extra power back to the grid. At the time of writing Riot’s stock is up by 1.53% in a daily timeframe and 158.14% in the past six months.