Riot Platforms Reports Q2 Loss Post-Bitcoin Halving Event

Riot Platforms, a prominent Bitcoin mining firm, announced a total revenue of $70.0 million for Q2 2024, down from $76.7 million in the same period last year. This decline follows the Bitcoin halving event in April.

A significant $9.7 million drop in engineering revenues also contributed to the decreased revenue, partially offset by a $6 million rise in Bitcoin mining revenue. Despite these financial challenges, the firm has shown resilience in its core mining operations.

“The second quarter saw the Bitcoin network ‘halving’ in April of this year, a preprogrammed event that halves the Bitcoin block subsidy miners receive every four years,” explained Jason Les, CEO of Riot Platforms. “Despite this reduction, Riot posted $70.0 million in revenue.”

Riot Produces Fewer Bitcoins

During Q2, Riot Platforms produced 844 Bitcoins, a 52% drop from the 1,775 Bitcoins mined in the same period last year. This decline is mainly due to the April Bitcoin block subsidy halving, which cut mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

The halving event, along with increased network difficulty, has constrained Riot’s Bitcoin output despite their operational efforts.

Rising Costs of Bitcoin Mining

The average cost to mine a single Bitcoin for Riot Platforms soared to $25,327, a significant increase from $5,734 per Bitcoin in Q2 2023. This surge is primarily due to the block subsidy halving and a 68% rise in the global network hash rate, which measures the computational power used in mining.

Riot Platforms generated $13.9 million in power credits during Q2, a slight increase from $13.5 million in the same period last year.

Engineering Revenue Decline

Engineering revenue declined to $9.6 million from $19.3 million in Q2 2023, highlighting substantial challenges in this business segment.

Despite these setbacks, Riot Platforms maintains a strong working capital position of $646.5 million, including $481.2 million in cash. The firm holds 9,334 Bitcoins produced through its self-mining operations.