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The recent Bitcoin halving in May, where mining reward was reduced by fifty percent, is putting pressure on mining firms as it could negatively affect mining revenues. But Riot Blockchain, one of the few US-based few Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining companies, is facing the challenge head-on by upgrading and expanding its mining fleet to improve its operational efficiency.
Riot Blockchain Inc. announced in a press release that it is ramping up its capacity through the acquisition of 1,000 next-generation Bitmain S19 Pro (110 TH) Antminers, Aithority reported. The top-of-the-line mining rigs were purchased from Bitmain Tech PTE LTD for $2.3 million.
The cryptocurrency mining firm also clarified that the acquisition was funded using its working capital. The company has no long-term debt at the moment.
With the new mining equipment, Riot projects its aggregate operating hash rate should reach around 567 petahash per second (PH/s) by the fourth quarter of 2020. This capacity represents a 467 percent increase of Riots average mining hash rate as of late last year.
While the new generation of miners operates at 467 percent of late 2019’s hash rate, the setup will only consume 50 percent more power. The new hardware is more energy-efficient and has an efficiency rating of 38.6 joules per terahash compared to the older miners’ rating of 98 joules per terahash. Working at full capacity, it will consume 14.2 megawatts of power.
The new batch of miners will be deployed as received during it second part of 2020 and will provide over 56 percent of Riot’s hashing capacity. They will be installed at Coinmint’s Massena facility as per a previously agreed hosting arrangement.
Last May, mining reward decreased by 50 percent in an event known as halving, the third one in Bitcoin’s history. From 12.5 bitcoins per block, rewards dropped to 6.25 BTC, forcing mining firms to come up with ways to minimize the anticipated revenue decline.
In Riot’s case, the company opted to upgrade its mining rigs to increase its operational efficiency and performance. With the new equipment in place, it is better positioned to thrive in the post-halving environment.
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