Publicly traded mining company Hive Blockchain purchased and immediately deployed its largest batch of new ASIC miners Friday, bringing 1,240 MicroBT WhatsMiner M30S machines online.
- The firm’s aggregate operating hashrate nearly doubles with the addition of the new M30S miners, according to a statement, in what is the largest single purchase of new machines for the Vancouver-based company.
- Hive's current hash power has almost doubled from 116 peta hash per second (PH/s) to 229 PH/s, thanks to the new machines. A total operating hash power of 1,000 PH/s is the company’s goal within the next 12 months, according to Frank Holmes, interim executive chairman.
- Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, shipping and delivery logistics for miner manufacturers remains disrupted, affecting Hive and buyers. Hive is still waiting on the full delivery of 200 S17e miners, which were delayed by production issues at ASIC-manufacturer Bitmain.
- Hive's expansion comes as bitcoin is trading at a three-year high of $15,500, up 116% this year.
- The expected profitability of these new machines, moreover, is boosted by the significant drop in mining difficulty Tuesday despite significant increase in bitcoin's price, as CoinDesk previously reported.
- Year to date, shares of Hive, which had Q1 net income of $1.8 million, have gained 488 percent, currently trading at $0.53.