Riot Blockchain – arguably one of the largest and most well-known bitcoin and crypto mining firms out there – is set to acquire Whinstone US, Inc. for approximately $80 million. Through the acquisition, Riot gains access to several of the company’s stock shares, as well as additional assets and operations. In all, the total value of the acquisition is said to be more than $650 million.
Riot Blockchain Just Bought Whinstone
One of the most significant points of the move is that Riot will now be the largest, publicly traded crypto mining company in all North America. Jason Les, the CEO of Riot, explained in an interview:
The acquisition of Whinstone is the most significant achievement in Riot’s growth to date, and positions Riot as an industry leader in bitcoin mining. After the consummation of this transaction, we will have created a very clear path for the company’s future growth. Riot will wholly own the largest bitcoin mining facility in North America, with very low power costs and one of the most talented development teams in the industry. Whinstone will serve as the foundation of Riot’s bitcoin mining operations, upon which we will drive our goal of increasing the American footprint in the global bitcoin mining landscape.
At the time of writing, Whinstone currently employs more than 100 individuals. The company is stationed in Texas, and thus Riot will have access to several acres of land that the firm has set aside for mining operations. The region offers extremely low energy costs, thereby allowing Riot to mine many more coins at significantly lower rates.
The present site in Texas hosts approximately 750 MW, though 300 MW is expected to be added in the coming months. At press time, Whinstone is mining for three unnamed institutional clients, which suggests that while bitcoin ownership has become a little more mainstream, these firms are now looking to make money through the extraction process, which could spell even greater adoption by large companies in the future.
Chad Harris – co-founder of Whinstone – said in a recent statement:
We are excited to be joining Riot, as both Riot and Whinstone share a vision for the future of bitcoin mining in America. Riot’s strategic vision and resources combined with Whinstone’s infrastructure strength will allow our combined teams to achieve our shared growth plans.
One of the Largest Miners – If Not THE Largest…
In 2020, Whinstone was acquired by a leading computing firm known as Northern Data AG. Aroosh Thillainathan – CEO of Northern Data – stated:
With Whinstone, we have built and established one of the largest HPC centers in the world with significant potential and scale to further ramp up capacity. The transaction will provide Riot with the opportunity to not only utilize Whinstone’s existing operational capacity for their own mining operations but also to scale capacity and establish themselves as the leading bitcoin miner in the U.S.
