Riot Platforms Acquires 5,117 Bitcoin

Riot Platforms announced on Friday that it had acquired 5,117 bitcoin between December 10 and December 12, 2024.

The bitcoin miner's most recent acquisition of the largest digital asset amounted to approximately $510 million, at an average price of around $99,669 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. This acquisition has increased the company's total bitcoin holdings to 16,728.

The bitcoin purchases were financed using a portion of the net proceeds from the offering of its 0.75% convertible senior notes due 2030, as well as existing cash reserves. Following the news, Riot's stock price (ticker RIOT) rose by over 7% to $13.28.

Riot’s bitcoin purchase comes after a challenging third quarter, where the company posted a net loss of $154.4 million. This loss was driven by rising costs and unrealized investment losses, leading the miner to lower its hash rate targets. Consequently, Riot has also adjusted its 2025 target from 56.6 EH/s to 46.7 EH/s.

Starboard Value Invests in Riot

The latest acquisition by the bitcoin miner coincides with news that activist investor Starboard Value has purchased a stake in the company. The U.S. hedge fund, founded in 2002 by Jeffrey Smith and Mark Mitchell, is urging Riot to "convert some of its bitcoin-mining facilities into capacity for so-called hyperscalers," according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Hyperscalers operate large-scale data centers designed to handle significant amounts of computing power and storage capacity. The demand for such facilities has surged due to the artificial intelligence boom, particularly following the recent bitcoin halving event in April that cut miners’ revenue in half.