HIVE Blockchain has reported its best-ever quarter, as the mining firm raked in record fees from the frenzied activity in decentralized finance (DeFi) over the summer.
- The Toronto-listed mining company released its unaudited results Thursday, saying it mined a total of 32,000 ether (ETH) and 121,000 ethereum classic (ETC) in the second fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30.
- Per CoinDesk's price data, that comes to nearly $11.8 million for mining ether, and a further $664,000 for ethereum classic – approximately $12.4 million at time of writing.
- The figures represent a near 30% increase from the 25,000 ETH that HIVE mined in the first quarter and a 50% increase on the same quarter in 2019.
- HIVE said it currently costs around $150 to mine a single ether. Based on September's average ether price of $343, the company made approximately $193 in gross profit.
- Going by the amount processed across the fiscal quarter, HIVE – which expanded its ETH mining capacity by 20% in March – made roughly $614,000 from ether.
- HIVE attributes its bumper quarter to the fees charged over the summer, when surging interest in DeFi led to record transaction volumes on Ethereum.
- As fees for processing transactions increase with volume, miner revenue increased considerably over the summer.
- CoinDesk reported last month that miners made an estimated $16 million in a single day for confirming DeFi-related transactions on Ethereum.
- Before the announcement, HIVE shares closed 5% down Wednesday at 0.35 CAD ($0.26).