Riot Platforms Boosts Bitcoin Mining Output by 19% in 2023, Harvesting 6,626 Bitcoins
Riot Platforms has made significant strides in the Bitcoin mining sector, achieving a 19% increase in Bitcoin production in 2023, resulting in a total of 6,626 Bitcoins mined. This growth comes as the company prepares for the upcoming Bitcoin halving in 2024, following its acquisition of 66,560 mining rigs from MicroBT. The increase in Bitcoin output has also led to a rise in annual revenue, primarily due to the higher average price of Bitcoin throughout 2023 compared to the previous year’s bear market. Riot Platforms reported a notable reduction in the average cost of Bitcoin mining, with costs dropping by approximately $3,686 per Bitcoin compared to 2022, reflecting a 33% decrease. The average value of Bitcoin in 2023 surpassed that of 2022, contributing to an increase in mining revenue to $280.7 million from $259.2 million in the previous year.
Despite the challenges faced by the crypto market in 2022, including the collapse of major cryptocurrency companies like FTX, Riot Platforms has demonstrated resilience with a 47.47% increase in stock price over the past month. However, the stock experienced a 10.65% decline over a 5-day trading period last week. As of this writing, Riot’s stock price stands at $14.85.
The acquisition of 66,560 mining rigs from MicroBT represents one of the largest hash rate expansions in the company’s history, strategically timed before the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April 2024. Other Bitcoin mining companies have reported a wide range of production results for 2023. Core Scientific produced 19,274 Bitcoins, CleanSpark saw a 60% increase from 2022, mining over 7,300 Bitcoins, and Marathon Digital reported 12,852 Bitcoins mined in 2023, with a significant 56% increase in December alone compared to November and a 290% increase from December 2022.
In recent developments, Riot, along with the Texas Blockchain Council, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), challenging the demand for intrusive data from cryptocurrency miners.
