Riot Blockchain’s BTC Mining Surge: How Upgrades Sparked a 147% Growth

Monthly Growth Report

Riot Blockchain, a prominent name on the Nasdaq for its cryptocurrency mining operations, recently announced a staggering 147% increase in the average daily run rate of Bitcoins (BTC) mined in February. This impressive leap is compared against December 2019’s figures, showcasing just how effective the company’s latest upgrades have been.

Equipment Overhaul: The Secret Sauce

The backbone of this mining renaissance? A significant upgrade in equipment. At the start of February, Riot was operating with 2,940 Bitmain S17s and 1,751 S9s. By month’s end, the number of S17s had ballooned to 4,000. How’s that for a glow-up?

Strategic Mining Facility Upgrades

In January, Riot initiated a rollout of around 3,000 new S17 Pro Antminers for its Oklahoma City facility, which sources the machines from the Chinese tech titan, Bitmain. Riot anticipated that these upgrades could push the operating hashrate of the Oklahoma City site to an impressive 248 petahashes per second. This translates into a remarkable 240% boost in power efficiency compared to past operations.

Market Reaction: A Mixed Bag

Despite the glow of these upgrades, it appears there’s a shadow lurking. Following Riot’s announcement regarding the potential sale of its cryptocurrency exchange—launched in 2019—the firm’s shares dipped over 5%. This decision aims to refocus the company on Bitcoin mining in preparation for the upcoming halving event in May.

The Reality of Mining: A Broader Perspective

As the hype builds for new mining equipment, with Bitmain rolling out versions like the Antminer S19 and S19 Pro, experts caution about the sustainability of mining operations. Alex de Vries, founder of Digiconomist, highlighted that 98% of current mining rigs may not effectively verify transactions. He laments, “The shocking thing is the average lifetime of a bitcoin mining machine is just one and a half years, because we continuously see new generations outperforming the older units. Thus, many rigs become wasteful energy consumers, generating heat but contributing little to the blockchain ecosystem.”