Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) stock surged by 3.83% at the last trading close while the RIOT stock price continued to rise by 7.98% in the pre-market trading session after Riot Blockchain announced its March productions and operation updates. Riot Blockchain focuses on Bitcoin cryptocurrency mining. By acquiring the most efficient energy miners currently available, RIOT is expanding and improving its mining operations.
What is happening?
On April 12, 2021, RIOT announced an operations update that includes an unaudited Bitcoin (“BTC“) output and an unaudited BTC holdings update, through March 2021.
- Riot produced 187 BTC in March 2021, a boost of 80% over its pre-halving March 2020 production of 104 BTC.
- RIOT produced 491 BTC in Q1 2021, up 75% from the 281 BTC it produced in Q1 2020 before the halving.
- Riot has over 1,565 BTC on its balance sheet as of March 31, 2021, all of which was produced by its mining operations.
- RIOT strengthened its management team on April 6, 2021, by naming Megan Brooks as Chief Operating Officer, as well as Phil McPherson as Vice President, Capital Markets, and Ryan Werner as Vice President, Finance.
Most important,
Riot announced the signing of a definitive agreement on April 8, 2021, in which Riot will buy Whinstone, with all of its assets and operations, for $80 million in cash and a fixed 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock, for a total purchase value of $651 million based on Riot’s closing share price of $48.37 on April 7, 2021.
For Riot and its owners, the purchase of Whinstone is a watershed moment. Riot sees Whinstone as a key component of its global strategy to become the industry’s leading Bitcoin mining network. Riot is projected to be the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining and hosting business in North America when the deal closes, based on total built resources. The transaction is scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2021, pending the fulfillment or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Furthermore,
Until the end of 2021, RIOT intends to include monthly operating reports and unaudited production results. These updates are intended to keep Riot shareholders up to date on RIOT’s significant growth as it deploys its expanding mining fleet.
