Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Gets 33,280 Mining Machines Ahead of Halving

Riot chose to purchase an additional 66,000 machines.

Riot Blockchain, one of the world's largest bitcoin mining companies, has announced it has secured an initial order for 33,280 next-generation bitcoin mining machines after signing a long-term purchase agreement with Chinese bitcoin mining machine manufacturer MicroBT.

Riot said 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 increases computing power

Riot CEO Jason Les has announced the order for the first batch of Bitcoin mining machines for its Corsicana facility. The company's CEO Jason Les explained that the new additions are the most powerful ever built for Bitcoin mining. One of the largest and most efficient miners. The executive further added that these new models are designed and produced specifically for immersion cooling systems, systems expected to 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 increase the efficiency of our already powerful miners ahead of the upcoming Bitcoin halving.”

According to the official statement, the agreement has an initial order of 33,280 machines at a cost of approximately US$163 million, or US$21.50 per terahash (TH). Riot has the option to purchase an additional 66,560 machines on the same terms through the end of 2024.

The new partnership between the two companies is expected to ensure that the US has a "robust" domestic supply chain. In addition, MicroBT will be responsible for manufacturing these mining machines at the Pittsburgh factory, thereby creating new jobs in the region.

MicroBT chief operating officer Jordan Chen also said that all the machines to be produced will help expand MicroBT's business in China, thereby boosting its market share in the United States. According to reports, the M56S+ and M56S++ models purchased by Riot are the most powerful machines MicroBT has ever developed.

Riot mined 740 BTC in January

The recent winter storm in Texas damaged the Rockdale facility, resulting in a significant drop in Riot's computing capacity. Nonetheless, the company produced 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 bring in new members, even as rival Core Scientific laid off a large number of employees.