VANCOUVER , May 11, 2020 /CNW/ - HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE.V) (HVBTF) (HBF.F) (the "Company" or "HIVE") is pleased to announce that 750 new Bitmain S17+ Antminer machines are now operational at its recently acquired Bitcoin mining operation in Quebec.
The total number of machines utilizing green power to mine Bitcoin at the facility is now approximately 14,750. The new S17+s have increased the Company's SHA 256 Bitcoin mining computing power by approximately a third to 229 Petahashes per second (PH/s). The Company expects this computing capacity to increase in the near future following the acquisition of additional new machines.
As previously announced by HIVE, in preparation for the halving of Bitcoin rewards anticipated today, the Company is planning to invest at least C$3 million in next generation SHA 256 Bitcoin mining equipment. The cost for these 750 new machines was approximately US$1,425 per unit, or just over US$1 million , financed through the Company's net cash.
"The halving of Bitcoin rewards effectively cuts in half the diminishing finite supply of newly minted Bitcoin, and is an important milestone for the network," explained Frank Holmes , Interim Executive Chairman of HIVE. "Bitcoin rewards for miners have halved twice previously, in 2012 and 2016, when the price of Bitcoin was approximately $12 and $650 respectively, and prices rose significantly in the ensuing 18 months. Naturally past performance is no guarantee that previous cycles will repeat themselves, therefore we have been preparing for the halving through the acquisition of our own low cost Bitcoin mining operation in April and subsequent investment in high efficiency computing equipment to both increase the operational efficiency of our Quebec facility and maximize use of its existing 30 megawatt power capacity."
HIVE recently commenced Bitcoin mining at its 30 megawatt (MW) green energy-powered cryptocurrency operation in Quebec (the "Facility"), the acquisition of which was completed and announced in April.
HIVE is managing the Facility directly through its operational team, which joined the Company as part of the acquisition. The addition of in-house cryptocurrency mining operational expertise was an important aspect of the acquisition, in addition to the Facility's power capacity and the diversification the operation provides to the Company's business both geographically and by blockchain network.
