Riot Platforms Acquires Block Mining

Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Riot Platforms has acquired Block Mining, a Kentucky-based bitcoin miner, in a $92.5 million deal to expand its mining operations.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Riot announced that the acquisition could immediately add 60 megawatts of current operational capacity. “Riot intends to further expand Block Mining’s two sites, targeting 110 MW for self-mining operations by the end of 2024,” the company added. This would increase Riot’s total potential power capacity to 2 gigawatts.

“This transaction allows us to diversify our operations nationally and accelerate Block Mining’s expansion in Kentucky,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “With a combined 60 MW of existing developed capacity and a pipeline to rapidly scale to over 300 MW, this acquisition expands our operations and further enhances our path towards our growth target of 100 EH/s.”

Riot funded the acquisition with $18.5 million in cash and $74 million worth of Riot common stock.

In a filing earlier this month, Riot reported it earned 255 BTC in June, up from 215 BTC in May but down from 460 BTC in June 2023. The firm mined about half as many bitcoins year-on-year in June, which was anticipated following bitcoin’s halving event in April.

Shares of Riot on Nasdaq closed down 5.31% on Tuesday. The company’s stock price has dropped by 24.79% year-to-date.