Bitcoin mining and consumer services firm BTCS Inc (formerly Bitcoin Shop) lost more money than it made the first half of this year.
The Nevada company reported a net loss of $4.59m for the first half of 2015 in its 10-Q filing with the SEC. The loss represented an increase over the roughly $4m loss incurred over the same period in 2014.
The change seems to have been driven largely by rise in non-operational costs, which rose from $205,000 to $791,000. In interview, however, CEO Charles Allen suggested that he views the report as a validation of BTCS’ recent market strategy shift.
Allen stated that he views BTCS’ pivot from e-commerce to transaction processing services as a success that will continue to benefit investors, telling CoinDesk:
“We had 2,000% revenue growth. We went from $45,000 in revenue to $145,000 in revenue [quarter over quarter]. We’re seeing tremendous growth on the transaction verification services side.”
In particular, Allen cited the fact that BTCS is now spending $109 on average to mine 1 BTC, worth roughly $220 at press time. He indicated he expects this cost to lower as BTCS nears opening new North Carolina-based mining facilities.
Other numbers showed similar improvements as operational losses narrowed between the two periods. The company reported $3.8m in operational losses for the first half of 2015, compared to $4.2m the year prior.
BTCS further recorded a second quarter net loss of about $1.25m, a drop by half compared to the second quarter of 2014 when it posted a second quarter net loss of $2.59m. Second quarter expenditures for 2015 were $2.05m compared to $2.66m the year before.
In a note, however, BTCS indicated that it “expects to incur losses into the foreseeable future”. As of 30th June, the company had roughly $300,000 in cash on the books, as well as $46,100 in digital currency.
At press time, BTCS stock was trading at $0.13 a share.
Additional reporting by Stan Higgins.
Stock trading image via Shutterstock