Bitcoin
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms acquires rival Block Mining for $92.5 million
Colorado-based Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms has acquired its Kentucky-based competitor Block Mining to increase its operational capacity by 16 EH/s.
Bitcoin (BTC) miner Riot Platforms has acquired Kentucky-based cryptocurrency mining company Block Mining for $92.5 million to expand its operational capabilities. The company said in a press release dated July 24 the agreement immediately adds 1 EH/s to its self-mining hash rate “with the potential to add a total of 16 EH/s by the end of 2025.”
The acquisition includes a payment of $18.5 million in cash and $74 million in Riot common stock.
“With a combined existing developed capacity of 60 MW and a pipeline to rapidly scale to over 300 MW, this acquisition expands our operations and further enhances our path towards our 100 EH/s growth target.”
Jason Les, CEO of Riot Platforms
Riot also plans to invest an additional $32.5 million through 2025 to increase Block Mining’s power capacity, which includes two operational sites in Kentucky, the press release says. By the end of 2024, Riot intends to increase Block Mining’s infrastructure to support 110 MW for self-mining operations.
Amid the news, Riot shares fell 5.3% to $11.59, according to data from Google Finance.
The acquisition comes a few months after Riot Platforms proposed acquiring its other rival Bitfarms for $950 million. However, Riot later withdrew its proposal, citing an inability to engage with Bitfarms’ current board on a potential merger. Riot then Requested a special shareholder meeting to address governance issues at the Toronto-based competitor.