Bitcoin Miner Riot Platforms Buys 66,560 Mining Rigs from MicroBT
Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms has made one of its largest orders in history, purchasing 66,560 Bitcoin mining rigs from manufacturer MicroBT. This purchase comes ahead of the Bitcoin halving event scheduled for April 2024. The additional purchase agreement cost Riot $290.5 million, with an average price of $4,360 per machine.
Expanding Mining Capacity
Riot Platforms exercised their right-to-purchase option included in their initial agreement with MicroBT. This option allows Riot to buy up to 265,000 additional miners from MicroBT on the same terms as the latest order. Riot’s CEO, Jason Les, expressed excitement over the purchase, stating that it is the largest order of hash rate in the company’s history.
The new order consists of 72% MicroBT’s latest model, the M66S, with a hash rate of 250 terahashes per second (TH/s). The remaining machines include the M66 and M56S++ models. In total, the 66,560 miners will add 18 exahashes per second (EH/s) to Riot’s mining operations.
Deployment Schedule
The first batch of 33,280 machines purchased in June will start deploying in the first quarter of 2024. The additional 66,560 miners will be deployed in the second half of 2024. Once fully installed and operating, Riot estimates its self-mining hash rate capacity to reach 38 EH/s, which is expected to happen in the second half of 2025.
Impact on Stock
Riot’s stock, trading under the ticker RIOT, saw a nearly 9% increase on December 4th following the announcement of the purchase. The stock has experienced a significant increase of over 345% throughout 2023.
Bitcoin Miners Increase Production
In other news, Bitcoin miner CleanSpark reported producing 666 BTC in November, a 5.2% increase from October and a 24% increase from November 2022. CleanSpark’s CEO, Zach Bradford, attributed this increase to rising interest in Bitcoin and the potential for fees to become a larger source of revenue as adoption increases.
NASDAQ-listed TeraWulf also saw an increase in production, mining 323 BTC in November, a 3% increase from October. The company mentioned that higher network transaction fees contributed to this growth.
Hut 8 Corp Merger
Hut 8 completed its merger with US-based mining firm Bitcoin Corp on November 30th, forming Hut 8 Corp. The company began trading on the NASDAQ and Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker HUT on December 4th. However, the merged entity experienced a decline in share price on its debut day.
Bitcoin mining stocks continue to attract attention as the industry prepares for the Bitcoin halving event in 2024. Riot Platforms’ large purchase from MicroBT demonstrates the company’s commitment to expanding its mining capacity and positioning itself for future growth.
