Riot Platforms Reports Decline in May Bitcoin (BTC) Production, Expands Hash Rate

Riot
Platforms,
Inc.
(NASDAQ:
RIOT),
a
prominent
player
in
the
Bitcoin
(BTC)
mining
industry,
has
reported
a
significant
decrease
in
its
Bitcoin
production
for
May
2024.
According
to
the
company,
only
215
BTC
were
mined,
representing
a
43%
drop
from
April
2024
and
a
68%
decrease
compared
to
May
2023.
This
decline
comes
in
the
wake
of
the
April
2024





Bitcoin
halving,
which
reduced
block
rewards.

Hash
Rate
Expansion

Despite
the
drop
in
Bitcoin
production,
Riot
has
made
strides
in
increasing
its
hash
rate.
The
company’s
total
deployed
hash
rate
climbed
to
14.7
EH/s
by
the
end
of
May,
up
from
12.6
EH/s
in
April.
The
Corsicana
Facility,
Riot’s
new
mining
site,
contributed
significantly
to
this
increase,
adding
3.1
EH/s
to
the
company’s
capabilities.
Jason
Les,
CEO
of
Riot,
highlighted
the
progress
at
the
Corsicana
Facility,
stating
that
the
first
100
MW
building,
Building
A1,
is
fully
developed
and
miner
deployment
is
nearly
complete.

Operational
Challenges
and
Solutions

Riot’s
Rockdale
Facility
faced
operational
challenges,
including
the
deinstallation
of
problematic
miner
models
and
the
deployment
of
new
MicroBT
M60S
miners.
This
led
to
a
temporary
850
PH/s
reduction
in
the
facility’s
hash
rate
for
May.
However,
the
company
expects
the
deployment
of
these
new
miners
to
accelerate
in
June.
Additionally,
a
lightning
strike
at
the
Corsicana
Facility
resulted
in
a
three-day
operational
pause,
but
systems
were
assessed
and
mining
resumed
without
significant
long-term
impact.

Power
and
Demand
Response
Credits

Riot’s
unique
power
strategy
yielded
substantial
benefits,
generating
approximately
$7.3
million
in
power
and
demand
response
credits
in
May.
This
strategy,
often
employed
during
the
summer
months,
continues
to
be
a
competitive
advantage
in
reducing
mining
costs.

Infrastructure
Developments

Riot
is
advancing
the
development
of
its
second
large-scale
facility,
the
Corsicana
Facility.
Phase
1
of
this
development
is
expected
to
total
400
MW
of
mining
capacity,
with
the
potential
to
reach
1
gigawatt
upon
full
completion.
In
May,
the
immersion
tanks
in
Building
A1
were
fully
deployed
and
nearly
all
miners
were
energized.
Construction
of
Building
A2
was
also
completed,
and
miner
deployment
has
commenced.
Work
on
Building
B1
is
on
schedule,
with
concrete
slab
pouring
in
progress
and
installation
of
immersion
tanks
expected
to
begin
in
June.

Future
Hash
Rate
Projections

Riot
anticipates
achieving
a
total
self-mining
hash
rate
capacity
of
31
EH/s
by
the
end
of
2024.
The
company
has
entered
into
multiple
purchase
agreements
with
MicroBT,
including
an
initial
order
of
33,280
immersion
miners
for
the
Corsicana
Facility
and
additional
orders
bringing
the
total
to
131,340
miners.
These
miners
are
expected
to
add
28
EH/s
to
Riot’s
mining
capacity,
with
full
deployment
expected
by
the
second
half
of
2025.
Upon
completion,
Riot
projects
a
total
self-mining
hash
rate
capacity
of
41
EH/s.

Leadership
and
Recruitment

In
a
significant
leadership
update,
Stephen
Howell,
CEO
of
ESS
Metron,
has
been
appointed
as
Riot’s
Chief
Operating
Officer.
Howell
will
continue
to
oversee
ESS
Metron,
Riot’s
wholly-owned
subsidiary
specializing
in
electrical
engineering
and
manufacturing.
Riot
is
also
actively
recruiting
for
various
positions
to
support
its
expansion
and
operations.

Image
source:
Shutterstock

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