Riot Blockchain Sees 2022 as Year of Consolidation in Bitcoin Mining Sector

One of the largest publicly traded bitcoin BTC$89,454.51 miners, Riot Blockchain (RIOT) sees this year as the “year of consolidation in the bitcoin mining industry" and expects the company to potentially benefit from such a trend.

• The miner said it is "continuously evaluating strategic opportunities," which it may decide to undertake as part of its strategic growth initiatives, company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Tuesday.
• The miner reported 2021 revenue of $213.2 million, which is up 1,665% from 2020 and beat average analyst estimates of $211.06 million, according to FactSet data.
• A rise in the company's hashrate and bitcoin price helped the company's revenue in 2021, the miner said.
• The company reported a net loss of $7.9 million in 2021, versus a net loss of $12.7 million in 2020. The net loss for the fiscal year 2021 was significantly impacted by non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of $68.5 million and a non-cash, unrealized loss of $36.5 million on impairment of cryptocurrencies, according to a statement.
• Riot also increased the bitcoin held on the balance sheet by 353% in 2021, compared to 1,078 in 2020. On March 3, the miner said it held about 5,783 self-mined bitcoins as of end of February.
• Furthermore, the miner reiterated its expectations of reaching a 2022 hashrate of 12.8 exahash per second (EH/s). By comparison, its peer Marathon Digital said it expects to reach a hashrate of 23.3 EH/s by early 2023.
• Riot shares rose slightly in post-market trading, while bitcoin hovered above $40,000, according to TradingView data.

Read more: Miners Remain Unfazed by Crypto Sell-Off, Expect More M&A