Riot Blockchain saw its Bitcoin mining revenues soar 70% in the first quarter of 2020, the biotech turned-Bitcoin mining firm has revealed
In a disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), Riot Blockchain has disclosed that its revenue from Bitcoin mining went up 70% in the first quarter of 2020.
In a report the company published on May 8, mining revenues from Bitcoin in the first three months of the year ending March 31, 2020, hit $2.4 million. The company recorded $1.4 million from the same operation in the first quarter of 2019, which puts the latest revenue 70% up, year-on-year.
Despite the increase in revenue, Riot maintains its mining activities in the first quarter of 2020 brought in 280 bitcoins, compared to 330 it mined in the first three months of 2019.
The revenue is therefore down to the uptick in Bitcoin’s price. In 2019, Bitcoin’s value in the first three months fluctuated around $3,790 after the top crypto’s crash of 2018/2019.
However, in 2020, BTC prices averaged $8,287, which brought in more from the 280 minted coins.
The company has also attributed the increased revenue to stabilized mining costs year-on-year. According to the company, costs have been around $1.4 million in Q1 2020, while 2019 saw the costs range around $1.5 million. These costs were primarily related to the company’s mining operations comprising mainly rent and utilities, the firm noted.
In other expenses, depreciation of hardware rose by $0.6 million in the quarter in question compared to the same period in 2019. A similar scenario was recorded in the company’s general and administrative expenses, with Q1 seeing this cost go up 18% over that of 2019.
Riot Blockchain rebranded to venture into crypto mining, including the term blockchain in its business name. That prompted the SEC which began investigations into the firm’s operations.
At the time of its name change, the crypto space was seeing massive hype as Bitcoin and other crypto rallied to record blockbuster prices. According to the SEC, the rebranding, therefore, warranted added scrutiny as it meant the firm could have been out to capitalize on crypto’s hype to inflate the company’s share prices.
The investigation into Riot Blockchain, however, ended in February this year, with the regulator not making any further recommendations regarding the matter.
The strong performance for the company’s Q1 2020 results is indicative of its robust business operations since switching to mining.