Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Secures 33,280 Mining Rigs Ahead of Halving

One of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining firms – Riot Blockchain – has announced securing an initial order of 33,280 next-generation Bitcoin miners after entering into a long-term purchase agreement with China-based Bitcoin miner manufacturer MicroBT.

Riot said that the deal will boost the Colorado-based company’s self-mining capacity to 20.1 EH/s once the machines are installed in the first quarter of 2024.

Riot’s Boost its Hashrate Capacity

Announcing Riot’s first order of Bitcoin miners for its Corsicana Facility, the company’s CEO Jason Les explained that the new additions are among the most powerful and efficient miners ever made for Bitcoin mining. The exec further added that these new models are designed and produced specifically for immersion cooling systems, such as those that will be used at Riot’s Texas facility.

“These new miners will contribute an additional 7.6 EH/s to Riot’s self-mining capacity when fully deployed and will further enhance our already strong fleet efficiency in advance of the upcoming Bitcoin halving.”

As per the official statement, the initial order for the agreement clocks in at 33,280 machines costing approximately $163 million, or $21.50 per terahash (TH). Riot has the option to purchase an additional 66,560 machines before the end of 2024 at the same terms.

The new partnership between the two companies is expected to secure a “robust” domestic supply chain in the United States. Besides, MicroBT will be tasked with manufacturing these miners at a Pittsburgh facility resulting in the creation of new jobs in the region.

MicroBT’s COO Jordan Chen also said all machines that will be manufactured will help in expanding the former’s operations in the country, thereby enabling them to boost their market share in the US. The M56S+ and M56S++ models bought by Riot are reportedly the most powerful machines developed by MicroBT.

Riot Mined 740 BTC in January

The recent winter storms in Texas damaged the Rockdale Facility, which slashed the hash rate capacity of Riot. Despite this, the company generated a 740 BTC in January a 62% increase compared to January 2022 and a new monthly all-time high.

During the same period, Riot also announced plans to onboard with new members even as it rival Core Scientific laid off a chunk of their employees.