Crypto miner Riot Blockchain expanding its Oklahoma facility
Nasdaq-listed crypto miner Riot Blockchain is expanding its facility in Oklahoma City by installing over 1,000 Bitmain machines.
Riot has received additional 1,067 units of S17 Pro Antminers from Bitmain, which are expected to increase its mining hashrate by 240%, the firm announced Tuesday. The deployment of new machines is expected to get completed in the next seven business days.
Last month, Riot deployed 3,000 units of S17 Pro Antminers at the facility. The firm purchased 4,000 of these miners from Bitmain for around $6.35 million in December. Notably, Riot said the coronavirus outbreak did not impact it due to the timing of its orders.
The latest expansion news comes a few days after Riot announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded its investigation into the company without recommending any enforcement action. The SEC issued a subpoena to Riot in 2018 for investigating its assets. Later that year, the regulator expanded its inquiry to investigate Riot’s registration statements and its investment in Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare. The firm appears to be clear for now.
Riot, formerly known as Bioptix, pivoted from biotech to crypto mining in 2017. The move resulted in the firm’s shares rallying as much as 1,611% at the time. Its recent financial performance, however, has been poor. Riot reported a net loss of around $16.6 million in the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, 2019.
