HIVE Announces Planned Investments to Update and Maximize Iceland Operation
VANCOUVER, Canada, June 18, 2020 – HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced transition of hosting and management of its GPU-based high performance computing equipment at its green energy-powered data center in Iceland. The transition has resulted in an approximately 50% reduction in monthly facilities and operations costs and HIVE’s Ethereum mining operations in Iceland are now operating with positive gross mining margins.
HIVE now intends to further improve its profitability profile and cash flow generation in Iceland by making certain investments to optimize its Ethereum mining efficiency and maximize capacity while leveraging its existing fixed cost base. These improvements include acquiring new mining rigs to maximize available space at the Iceland facility. HIVE will also work with its new service provider partner Blockbase Group DWC-LLC (“Blockbase”) to undertake facility improvements and refurbish as necessary its approximately 4,000 rigs to improve mining efficiency. Following such projects, HIVE will consider expanding the facility.
Such capital expenditures are anticipated to cost approximately $500,000 and be financed through cash on hand. Financing is also anticipated to be provided through the sale of Ether which the Company recently received from its mining pool Ethermine, reflecting HIVE’s approximate 10% share of the distribution of an unusually large block transaction fee processed by the mining pool last week.
“As one of the largest industrial scale miners of Ethereum globally, HIVE was fortunate to receive its required share of an unexpected payout. We intend to re-invest these proceeds back into the Ethereum network by fast tracking our capital improvements in Iceland,” said Frank Holmes, Interim Executive Chairman of HIVE.
The improvements in Iceland are another step HIVE has undertaken to improve transparency, accountability and profitability across its mining operations over the past 18 months after current management came into place. HIVE completed a similar recent transition at its flagship Ethereum mining operations in Sweden in late 2019, which has resulted in improved efficiency and significantly lower operating costs.
About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is a growth oriented, TSX.V-listed company building a bridge from the blockchain sector to traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art digital currency mining facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland which produce newly minted digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum continuously. Our deployments provide shareholders with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining as well as a growing portfolio of crypto-coins.
Source: HIVE Blockchain Technologies
