Bitcoin Miner Riot Posts $84 Million Quarterly Loss as Post Halving Era Bites

Riot Platforms, a NASDAQ-listed Bitcoin miner, reported a net loss of $84.4 million in its latest quarterly financial report, even as the price of the world’s largest crypto remained relatively stable.

Instead, its loss was primarily driven by a 52% year-over-year (YOY) decline in the number of Bitcoin mined between April 1 and June 31, Riot said Wednesday.

Riot also reported a non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $32.1 million, along with depreciation and amortization costs amounting to $37.3 million.

The financial quarter was the first full period following the most recent Bitcoin halving in April of this year, which slashed mining rewards from 6.25 Bitcoins per block to 3.125, effectively doubling the cost of mining the asset.

"The average direct cost to mine Bitcoin, inclusive of power credits, was $25,327 in the quarter, as compared to $5,734 per Bitcoin for the same three-month period in 2023," Riot said.

Despite its increased costs, Riot still achieved a mining revenue of $55.8 million, up from $49.7 million YOY for the quarter, pointing to a higher average Bitcoin price. 

While Bitcoin fell 10% between April and June, the miner may have liquidated its holdings amid a rising price. Decrypt has reached out for clarification. Overall revenue was relatively modest at $70 million, compared to $76.7 million for the second quarter of 2023, quarterly filings show.

Bitcoin halvings, which occur approximately every four years, significantly impact mining operations as miners need to expend the same amount of computational power and energy to receive half the reward. 

Reduction in rewards can strain the profitability of mining operations, especially for smaller players who may not have the financial resources to sustain their operations.

Before the halving, it was estimated the event would cost the industry $10 billion as power costs rise, making it difficult for miners to absorb a hit to revenue. While some small miners have struggled, it is unclear how much of the sector has been impacted.

Larger miners like Riot, however, have better access to capital and leverage over power costs through more favorable energy deals with providers.

Despite the losses, Riot reported $646.5 million in working capital and $481.2 million in cash. 

The company has also expanded its operations to increase its hash rate capacities, where, on April 18, Riot announced the energization of its Corsicana Facility substation. 

That move is expected to ramp up its total capacity of 1 GW when fully operational, making it the largest facility by developed capacity. For context, 1 GW is enough to power about 750,000 homes annually.

The Corsicana location is also expected to add 16 exahashes per second (EH/s) to Riot’s mining capacity by year-end. That means the facility can perform 16 quintillion hash calculations per second as it eyes a major boost to its mining output.

It follows Riot’s recent acquisition of Kentucky-based rival Block Mining in July, which added a further 1 EH/s to its arsenal. Overall, Riot projects a hash rate capacity of 36 EH/s by the end of 2024.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair