Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms acquires rival Block Mining for $92.5m

Colorado-based Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms has acquired its Kentucky-based rival Block Mining to increase its operational capacity by 16 EH/s.

Bitcoin (BTC) miner Riot Platforms has acquired Kentucky-based crypto mining firm Block Mining for $92.5 million in a bid to expand its operational resources. The deal immediately adds 1 EH/s to its mining hashrate and “has the potential to reach a total of 16 EH/s by the end of 2025,” the company said in a July 24 press release.

The purchase includes $18.5 million in cash and $74 million worth of Riot stock.

“With a total current developed capacity of 60 MW and a pipeline with the potential to rapidly expand to over 300 MW, this acquisition expands our operations and further improves our path towards our growth target of 100 EH/s.”

Riot Platforms CEO Jason Les

Riot also plans to invest an additional $32.5 million through 2025 to expand Block Mining’s power capacity, which includes two operational sites in Kentucky, the press release reads. Riot aims to increase Block Mining’s infrastructure to support 110 MW for self-mining operations by the end of 2024.

Following this news, Riot shares fell 5.3 percent to $11.59, according to Google Finance data.

The acquisition comes just months after Riot Platforms offered to buy its other rival Bitfarms for $950 million. However, Riot later withdrew its offer, stating that it was unable to engage with Bitfarms’ current board of directors on a potential merger. Riot then called for a special shareholder meeting to address governance issues at its Toronto-based rival.