Bitcoin Miner Riot Scoops Small Kentucky Rival for $92 Million as Sector Sags

Riot Platforms announced Tuesday that it has acquired Kentucky-based BlockMiner for $92.5 million.

The terms of the deal include $18.5 million in cash and $74 million in Riot common stock, with potential additional payments based on performance levels, the company said in a statement.

The Colorado-based bitcoin miner has increased its operating capacity by 60 megawatts (MW) and plans to increase its capacity to 110 MW by the end of the year and more than 300 MW in the future.

Riot's increased capacity allows it to boost its overall hash rate, a measure of computing power used to mine bitcoins. A higher hash rate increases Riot's ability to solve complex mathematical problems faster, thereby generating more Bitcoin rewards.

It doubled its output following Bitcoin's halving in April, which dropped its block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Mining cost Single coin.

Rising energy costs and shrinking profit margins have forced less efficient miners to operate at a loss, resulting in rising costs.

They are small mines with high operating costs Especially vulnerableLarger companies with cheaper electricity supplies and more efficient equipment are able to avoid uncertainty.

Despite recent headwinds, Riot's acquisition is aimed at expanding Block's mining infrastructure and management team and improving efficiency, he said.

The acquisition increased Riot's hash rate by 1 Eh/s per second (EH/s), which the company said could grow to 16 EH/s by the end of 2025.

Ryot said the acquisition will help it reduce energy costs associated with a given region by both expanding its operational capacity and expanding its geographic footprint.

Riot has bitcoin mining operations in central Texas and Kentucky.