Riot Blockchain (RIOT.Q) picked up 1,000 Bitmain S19 Antminers for $2.4 million from Bitmain earlier this week putting them firmly in line towards surviving Bitcoin’s halving later on this month.
We’ve written fairly extensively about what companies will need to do to better survive the lull period directly following Bitcoin’s halving, scheduled for later on this month. Riot has dragged their heels a bit in getting ready, having left the specifics about upgrading their equipment seemingly to the last minute, but they’re in and that’s the important part.
“Bitmain has been working with Riot Blockchain for several years, the company has been using our Antminer products for operating their data centers, and soon to be utilizing the latest technologies we have in our product line-up, the S19 series. We are confident with the continued cooperation and growth they have as they further expand their operations in the mining sector,” according to Bitmain’s North American Team further.
The S19 is remarkably more efficient than prior ASIC Bitmain models, and other ASIC miners presently on the market, offering a hash rate of 110 TH/s and an energy efficiency of 29.5±% 5 joules per terahash (J/TH). When the new S19 antminers are received and fully deployed, Riot suspects their aggregate operating hash rate will increase by 46% to approximately 358 petahash per second. They anticipate getting them in by early July.
Now the company should be completely ready to deal with the price shocks that come along with Bitcoin’s halving coming next month, having signed a new colocation agreement last month in New York that will take advantage of cheap, environmentally friendly hydroelectric energy, while using the prime equipment for the job.
The Bitmain Technology Holding Company, which is generally shortened to just Bitmain, is a multinational semiconductor company with IC design capabilities. They offer products, including chips, servers and cloud solutions for blockchain and artificial intelligence applications. Bitmain has shipped billions of ASICs, account for 75% of the global market, and being one of the world’s few companies with the ability to develop cloud-based AI chips, Bitmain has successfully released four generations of its AI chip. They have been trying to go public for awhile now, but keep hitting regulatory roadblocks—first in Hong Kong and now in New York.
Doing their part
Riot also contributed $100,000 to hospitals in its areas of operations to help them with their COVID-19 relief efforts.
Riot and its board of directors opted to donate $50,000 to both Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, which is close to the company’s mining facility, and Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, which is close to their company HQ in Castle Rock Colorado.
“Mercy is incredibly grateful for Riot Blockchain’s support during this challenging time in history. Currently, Mercy is preparing for a possible surge of COVID-19 patients, and this generous donation will provide funding for critical medical equipment that can help save lives today, and into the future. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of organizations and business professionals willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of others,” said Jim Gebhart, president of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City and regional strategy officer.
Everyone should do their part.
—Joseph Morton
