Riot Blockchain’s Texas Mining Operations Disrupted by Winter Storms

The cryptocurrency mining company Riot Platforms, previously known as Riot Blockchain, has announced that 17,040 rigs that were installed at its facilities in Texas have been rendered inoperable as a result of the “extreme winter weather” that has been experienced in Texas.

Riot said in a press release dated February 6 that two of the buildings of its Whinstone plant located in Rockdale, Texas were damaged in December as a result of the subzero conditions that the state endured for many days. From the 22nd through the 25th of December, temperatures plummeted below freezing in numerous areas of Texas as well as the rest of the United States.

According to Riot’s Chief Executive Officer Jason Les, “certain pieces of pipe in Buildings F and G were damaged during the severe winter storms that hit Texas in late December.” “It is likely that we will miss our previously declared aim of attaining 12.5 in total hash rate capacity in the first quarter of 2023 due to the harm that has been caused,” said the company.

According to Les, the damages caused an initial decrease in the facility’s hash rate capacity of 2.5 EH/s. However, when repairs were made, the business was able to return 0.6 EH/s to the facility. As of the 31st of January, the business Riot claimed creating 740 Bitcoin (BTC), which had a value of around $17 million at the time of publishing. Riot announced that there were 82,656 rigs operating with a hash rate capacity of 9.3 EH/s at that time.

Even though significant temperature reductions occurred in many regions of the United States in December due to increased travel over the holiday season, major towns in Texas such as Dallas and Austin were hit by a significant ice storm in early February. As a result of the weight of the accumulated ice, numerous tree branches and limbs collapsed, which caused damage to power lines, automobiles, and roadways, leaving thousands of inhabitants without access to electricity.

It is unknown if miners at Riot were impacted in a similar manner by the storm. Despite this, the firm did not disclose any reductions in operations as a result of the strain that the recent freeze placed on the electricity system in Texas.

Additionally, throughout the month of January, Riot reported selling 700 BTC for around $13.7 million. As of the 31st of January, the business had a total of 6,978 BTC. After the record-breaking heat wave that swept over the Lone Star State in July of 2017, the mining company reported selling coins.

During same month, Riot said that it intended to relocate a significant number of its mining rigs from a location in New York to one in Texas in an attempt to lower the company’s operational expenditures. Riot stock ended trading on the Nasdaq the same day it was released at $6.68, down 2.3%.