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Riot Ramps Up Bitcoin Mining: Jan 2023 Production & Operations Report

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Industry leader Riot has announced impressive production updates for the month of January 2023. The self-mining operation saw a significant increase of 62%, with a record-breaking 740 Bitcoin (BTC) produced, compared to 458 BTC produced in January 2022.

Riot Bitcoin Mining Continues To Soar Despite Winter Storm Setbacks

Riot CEO Jason Les expressed pride in the company’s month-over-month increases in total Bitcoin production, with a new record of 740 Bitcoin produced in January. 

Additionally, Les acknowledged the damage caused by the winter storms and its impact on the deployed fleet and hash rate capacity.

However, despite a reduction in the company’s deployed fleet and hash rate capacity caused by the severe winter weather in Texas, Riot managed to sell 700 BTC and generate a net gain of $13.7 million. 

As of January 31st, Riot held approximately 6,978 BTC with a deployed fleet of 82,656 miners and a hash rate capacity of 9.3 exahash per second (EH/s).

Riot received 5,130 new S19-series miners in January and deployed 6,912 miners, with an estimated 1,152 miners staged for deployment. 

Upon deployment, Riot’s total number of miners will reach 83,808, excluding 17,040 currently offline due to building damage. The company is evaluating options for further hash rate growth at its Corsicana facility.

Building D of Riot’s air-cooled facilities has reached completion with miners deployed, while construction and engineering teams continue work on Building E. 

The company’s estimated hash rate growth may be delayed due to the winter storm damage to Buildings F and G. Repairs are ongoing, and Riot will provide updated information on deployment timelines as they become available.

CEO of Riot, Jason Les, said:

Unfortunately, as a result of this damage, our previously announced target of reaching 12.5 EH/s in total hash rate capacity in Q1 2023 is expected to be delayed. We will provide additional updates as we obtain greater clarity on the impact to our planned deployment schedule. 

Additionally, the company’s mining operations are supported by its robust data center infrastructure, with its Corsicana facility undergoing expansion to accommodate planned hash rate growth. 

Moreover, the company concluded its miner purchase agreement with Bitmain Technologies Ltd and is evaluating options for further hash rate growth.

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Zhidu Technology Takes Impairment Provision for Bitcoin Investment, Totaling $16M

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Zhidu Technology, a listed company in China, has announced its plans to make an impairment provision for Bitcoin worth $16 million generated from cloud mining purchased from Bitmain. Zhidu is a shareholder of both Bitmain and BitDeer.

The 9th board of directors’ 16th meeting and the 9th supervisory board 10th meeting, held on January 30, reviewed and passed the proposal for the asset impairment provision of Zhidu Technology in 2022. 

The asset impairment provision was made following the regulations of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Corporate Accounting Standards, and the company’s own provisions. The comprehensive review of various assets was conducted on December 31 to evaluate signs of impairment.

The scope of the asset impairment included accounts receivable, contract assets, intangible assets, goodwill, and long-term equity investments, amounting to a total of 56,259.74 million yuan. The impairment data is subject to change with the release of the annual audit report.

The impairment provision for accounts receivable and contract assets was based on the company’s assessment of expected credit risk and calculation of expected credit loss. 

For intangible assets, the company’s assessment was based on the useful life and amortization method of each asset. Goodwill and intangible assets were tested for impairment annually.

The company’s digital assets, including Bitcoin, are owned by Zhidu Investment Co Ltd., a company subsidiary. The company conducted an impairment test for these assets and found that the recoverable amount was lower than its book value, leading to a write-down of the book value and a corresponding asset impairment provision.

Zhidu’s Bitcoin Provision Puts Pressure On Balance Sheet

Zhidu Technology’s $16 million impairment provision for Bitcoin has put pressure on the company’s balance sheet. The asset impairment was made in accordance with regulations set by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Corporate Accounting Standards.

The company’s comprehensive review of various assets as of December 31, 2022, led to the impairment provision for accounts receivable, contract assets, intangible assets, goodwill, and long-term equity investments, totaling 56,259.74 million yuan.

Zhidu’s digital assets, including Bitcoin, were tested for impairment and found to have a lower recoverable amount than their book value, leading to a write-down and a corresponding asset impairment provision.

Despite the pressure on its balance sheet, Zhidu Technology remains a listed company in China and a shareholder of Bitmain and BitDeer. The company will continue to adhere to regulations set by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Corporate Accounting Standards in its future asset impairment provisions.

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Regulatory scrutiny “very healthy” for the crypto industry, Bitmain’s Jihan Wu suggests

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The regulatory pressure on the crypto-verse hit a new high this time. From countries like China banishing the entire crypto mining industry to an array of regions ousting Binance, the crypto industry endured a significant setback these last couple of days. The founder of a prominent crypto mining firm believed that regulatory pressure was, in fact, good for the growth of the industry.

2021 undoubtedly started on a good note for the crypto sphere. With Bitcoin raging up to a high of $60K, the market had a good run. This surge in price also brought the industry popularity. After the crypto industry managed to amass increased attention, regulators from across the globe started paying more heed to the market.

Bitmain’s former CEO, Jihan Wu, suggested that this was all for the best as it negates the bad actors from the industry.

Regulatory pressure a good thing for crypto?

Recently speaking to CNBC, Jihan Wu elaborated on how the latest regulatory scrutiny would favor the crypto-verse. Noting that it is a highly healthy procedure, he added,

“I think the regulatory pressure is stronger than before but it will get a lot of bad actors out of the industry and make sure that the industry’s reputation is much better than without it. So I think this kind of a crackdown may be a good thing for the industry in the long term.”

The crypto industry had to wait a long time to brush off comments surrounding its association with the dark web. Even after several years, authorities across the globe continue to connect the crypto industry with the dark web and its perils.

Furthermore, Wu pointed out that the crypto market was a “fast growing financial sector,” which is progressing into becoming a trillion-dollar industry. Wu also stated,

“It’s growing almost to like a trillion dollar market cap industry, and more than 10% of the United States’ citizen have already got some involvement with cryptocurrency.”

Bitmain rolls out Dogecoin and Litecoin mining equipment amidst China’s big mining crackdown

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Prominent crypto mining equipment manufacturer, Bitmain had been making immense news throughout the last two years following its shake-up in management. However, the mining company has made headlines yet again with its latest launches.

Bitmain’s saga became so well-known that the entire crypto-verse was talking about it. While the firm’s founders fought for a long time, they finally agreed to settle in December 2020. The dispute had little effect on the firm’s sales as most of the mining equipment was sold out for quite some time. Bitmain seemed to be doing well as it recently announced the launch of mining equipment for two more cryptocurrencies.

Bitmain launches L7 mining machine for DOGE and LTC

As per a recent tweet by Chinese crypto blogger, Colin Wu, Bitmain had unveiled the latest L7 minting machine used to mint Litecoin [LTC] as well as popular meme coin, Dogecoin [DOGE]. While the firm’s Bitcoin mining machines are a hit, the community awaits to see what the latest equipment had to offer.

Wu noted that the L7 machines were equipped with a hash rate of 9500MH/s along with 3425W. Priced at $15000 per unit, this product is yet to be made available, however, the delivery time for it is November 2021. He tweeted,

Being established in China’s capital, Beijing, Bitmain currently stands as the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool. Recently, the Chinese authorities took down 26 mining farms in Sichuan. The officials even asked power generating platforms to retain from providing power to any crypto mining farms.

While China is undoubtedly eyeing the closure of all sorts of crypto platforms in the country, several mining farms were seen migrating to different regions. Bitmain, for instance, has already set up shop in various parts of Inner Mongolia. Several other platforms have sought a similar solution as the Chinese government intensifies its crypto mining regulations.

Bitmain Founders Finally Meet Midway As They Agree On A $600M Settlement

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The crypto industry is home to several feuds while some are with law enforcement, a few others like Bitmain have been dealing with an internal vendetta. While the Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer kept it low key for a while, the dispute between the two leaders seemed to be intact. Months through the power struggle, the co-founders of the crypto platform, Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu were finally agreeing on something.

Bitmain Power Struggle Comes To A Climax

Rewinding to October 2019, Bitmain made it to every news portal after the crypto platform had one of its founders ousted from the company. While Micree Zhan was trying to regain authority back at the mining firm, Jihan Wu continued asserting his power and kept Zhan out of the picture. Yet Zhan, went above and beyond to exert his stance. The actions of both the founders had were influencing the sales of the company. Keeping this in mind, Zhan and Wu seemed to have finally come to an agreement.

As per recent news, the founders of Bitmain had reportedly decided on Zhan taking over the Antpool mining pool as well as the mining farms in China. The mining rig hardware manufacturing platform, as well as the artificial intelligence region of Bitmain, will be overseen by Zhan.

Wu who had insinuated the entire conflict by exiling Zhan was bidding adieu to the platform. According to the agreement, Wu will take a whopping $600 million as compensation along with the BTC.com mining pool. He would also be in charge of all the overseas mining branches of Bitmain.

Reports further suggested that Zhan does not have the aforementioned settlement amount. He will reportedly lease his shares to pay Wu $600 million.

While the platform was recovering from the battle put up by its founder, it seemed to be getting back in action as it was garnering immense profits from its latest sales. VBit Technologies, a US-based firm had purchased over 3,000 19 Series Antminers. While VBit is a long time client of Bitmain, the latest sale filled the exchange’s pockets with more than $8 million.

Bitmain’s Client Purchases Over 3,000 19 Series Antminers

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Bitmain, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin miner producers, announced on the 8th of December that its long-time client of the Antminer brand, the US-based VBit Technologies bought more than 3,000 19 Series Antminers worth over $8 million.

Notably, the Antminer S19, as well as S19 Pro, happens to be the latest generation of ASIC mining hardware from Bitmain.  As per the official release, VBit Technologies now aims to increase its current aggregate operating hash rate by more than 50%.

Bitmain will be delivering 117 S19 miners this month, followed by hundreds of S19 Series models that will be shipped and deployed every month up until August next year. VBit has been a long-time client of Bitmain maintaining a collaborative partnership with the Bitcoin mining giant for the past several years.

Following the latest arrangement, Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain stated, “We are glad to be of assistance in their effort to their expand mining operations and to grow their presence in North America. This deal, again, proves the strong performance and capabilities of the Antminer 19 Series and our commitment to providing customers around the world the most efficient and powerful miners.”

This news comes as Bitcoin was trading close to its newly established ATH and the collective cryptocurrency industry forayed a new bull market. According to the CEO of VBit Technologies, Danh Vo, the platform was able to secure large batches of Bitmain’s most efficient mining hardware with which it can continue to carry on its expansion plans in North America. The exec also intends to bring Bitcoin mining to the mainstream in the region.

Earlier, Bitmain reportedly paused its funding for some core developers maintaining Bitcoin-related software. This was claimed by Jonas Schnelli, who happens to be a major Bitcoin Core contributor and maintainer, who tweeted losing his sponsorship after more than three years along with another contributor.

Thanks to Bitcoin’s bullish price action, bitcoin mining profits have been substantial in the last couple of months. Among the next-generation miners released this year, the most profitable was found to be SHA256 mining rig, which can mine digital assets like BTC, BCH, and BSV, is the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro. Released in May 2020, this rig clocks hashrate speeds of up to 110TH/s pulling a profit of around $10 per day for each unit.

Battle for Supremacy at Bitmain Delays Delivery of Mining Hardware

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As per the reports, exiled co-founder of Bitmain, Micree Zhan has forcefully taken over the management of the Shenzhen-based company. The battle for supremacy in Bitmain shot up between the two co-founders, compromising the shipment of new mining hardware to their buyers

In addition, customers state they had already paid Bitmain in advance for the mining hardware. They claim the payments were transferred to an account belonging to one of the arms of the firm.

According to one of the employees at Bitmain’s Shenzhen factory, dispatch vehicles were barred from accessing the factory’s premises. Employees are obliged to follow instructions given by Zhan, who is the current legal representative of the company.

Jihan wu’s reaction

On the other hand, Jihan Wu, another co-founder of Bitmain, attempted to reclaim his power through an announcement made and signed by Bitmain Technologies Limited. In the statement, he stated that the company was seeking redress against Zhan ‘s actions.

Wu also advised employees of the company not to listen to Zhan, and to sort out the disturbance. In addition, he assured Bitmain ‘s employees of compensation in the event of any risks they may face.

Battle for Supremacy at Bitmain

The feud between the two co-founders began when Wu exiled Zhan in October 2019, claiming that he had come to steer’ the ship.’ In response, Zhan claimed that the takeover was carried out by illicit means and then waged a war against Wu to control the business. To spark the battle for supremacy in Bitmain, Zhan launched a series of lawsuits against Wu.

Until now, the conflict between the two co-founders has not affected the daily routine of the Chinese-based company. Notably, the Beijing boardroom brawl did not have any impact on operations far away in Shenzhen.

The current reports at the Shenzhen-based factory show that the row between the two has taken a dramatic twist. With the shipping of mining equipment at a halt, this might impact production at the factory.

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Cheaper T19 Bitcoin Miner Launched Bitmain to Recoup Lost Market Share

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On June 1, giant mining equipment manufacturers Bitmain announced the launch of the cheaper T19 Bitcoin miner in a bid to reclaim its lost market share. The new Antminer T19 has a hash rate of 84 terahash per second (TH/s) and power efficiency of 37.5 joules per terahash (J/TH).

The new model was designed after the cost-effective Antminer S19 Bitcoin miner, but only cheaper. The S19 which comes with a computing power of 95 TH/s, with a market price tag of $1,785. On the other hand, the cheaper T19 Bitcoin miner costs slightly less at  $1,750. According to the announcement:

“The Antminer T19 is housed with the same generation of custom-built chips found in the Antminer S19 and S19 Pro, ensuring capable and efficient operations for mining cryptocurrencies.” 

Cheaper T19 Bitcoin miner available from June 1

As per the international Bitcoin mining network, F2pool, the cheaper T19 Bitcoin miner will generate up to $3.17 in daily profits. In contrast, the efficient S19 model can generate up to $3.96 based on the expense of $0.05 per kilowatt per hour.

Moreover, the new T19 model went on sale on June 1, with the maximum restriction of two miners each to each purchaser. This limit is put in place to avoid stockpiling and to enable individual buyers to purchase mining equipment as per the company. Additionally, the latest model will be shipped between June 21 and 30 according to Bitmain.

The latest model is more effective than its predecessor the T17 model, which has declined at a staggering rate of  20 – 30 percent together with the Antminer S17. The more common failure rate is basically 5 percent. The new cheaper T19 model comes with an ‘upgraded firmware’ seemingly to enable “faster start-up speeds.”

Bitcoin Halving forced Bitmain’s hand

Furthermore, the new cheaper T19 Bitcoin miner comes after Bitcoin’s May 11 rewards halving, which slashed miners’ rewards by half to 6.25 BTC per block. The halving event has resulted in most miners shutting down shop and look for more cost effective mining equipment 

Additionally, Bitmain has lost its market share to upcoming rival Microbt. As per data by Coinshares, the Beijing-based mining giants gave up at least 10 percent of the market share to Microbt back in 2019.

Nasdaq Listed Riot Blockchain Sees Slight Growth in Q1 2020

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 Riot Blockchain, which is a public digital currency mining firm, saw a slight increase in earnings per share (EPS) during the first quarter of 2020. The Bitcoin mining outfit shared its financial results and highlights for the quarter ended on March 31, 2020.

Nasdaq listed Riot Blockchain is making significant progress in the market. In its announcement, the mining company revealed the conclusion of the SEC investigation, and the complete revamp of mining rigs in its Oklahoma mining farm. The firm wrote:

 “As compared to the same period last year, during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Riot announced increased revenues and decreased SG&A expenses excluding stock-based compensation. As compared to December 31, 2019, the Company has substantially improved its liquidity position and increased total stockholder’s equity.”

Nasdaq listed Riot Blockchain installs next generation Bitmain S19 Antiminers

In its announcement, Riot emphasized the successful stationing of the 4,000 Bitmain S17 Pro Antminers purchased late last year; and the addition of the 2,040 Bitmain S19 Antminer revamped in April 2020.

Following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BTC mining outfit shifted a substantial amount of its S17 Antiminers; to a mining facility in New York which is run by Coinmint. Riot contemplates the new mining equipment will raise the firm’s current average hash rate by a massive 84%. Riot plans to station the new rigs by Q3 this year. 

Q1 2020 Riot Blockchain financial results 

According to the report, Riot Blockchain launched 281 freshly minted BTC coins during Q1 of 2020. The firm grew its Bitcoin directory by 60%, to 821 BTC between December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020.

In addition, Riot Blockchain saw boosted business assets on March 31 this year, rising from $9.3 million on December 31, 2019, to $17 million on March 31, 2020. Moreover, the firm reduced its total liabilities by $300,000, to $3.8 million within the same period.

In conclusion, the mining firm reported that total mining income grew by 68% to $2.4 million, in contrast to the $1.4 million made during Q1 of 2019.

Post- Bitcoin Halving Could see 30% of Miners Close Shop as Business Turns Unrewarding

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Almost a third of bitcoin mining farms could shut down their mining machines as business turns unprofitable post-bitcoin halving, as businesses turn unprofitable due to the lowering of BTC mining rewards.

The third bitcoin mining event that was completed yesterday slashed the supply of bitcoin, reducing the incentives paid to miners for their efforts by half to 6.25 BTC per block. According to the vice president of Poolin Mining Pool, Alejandro De La Torre, BTC miners who make up 15 percent to 30 percent of the total bitcoin network hash rate are already in the process of shutting down their equipment as profit margins fall.

Miners with outdated rigs to shut down post-bitcoin halving

Indeed, mining companies that use old obsolete mining rigs such as the Bitmain S9 miner, which consumes more energy, will have to be the most affected, according to Poolin’s vice president. In his recent analysis, he wrote:

“We expect that the first 1008 blocks after the halving will be mined slowly as huge numbers of unprofitable miners drop off the network. We estimate around 30% of the entire Bitcoin network will be squeezed considering that the first 1008 blocks will have the pre-halving difficulty, but half the reward.”

Occasional halving events put a lot of pressure on the miners, as the incentive has a 50 per cent effect on the revenues produced by the mining companies. Nevertheless, some experts believe that the dip in income is indemnified through a spike in the price of the flagship digital currency; an accomplishment often associated with the past two halvings. Regardless of the argument, the less effective mining firms will be pushed out of the game easily.

Bitcoin mining is all about durability

According to Poolin VP, this is a long game that relies on durability and survival. He claims that mining companies that are unable to reduce the cost of mining to keep up with the most powerful mining rigs on the market must pay the price.

No matter how miners feel about their revenues, the new bitcoin halving event means their rewards; it will be halved for every block mined. Post-bitcoin halving, bitcoin network complexity, total hashrate, and the price of bitcoin could be big statistics to keep an eye on.