Riot Blockchain Reports Record Q2 Results

Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain reported revenue rose to a record $34.3 million in the second quarter, up from just $1.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income came in at 22 cents per share versus a loss of 31 cents a share in the second quarter of 2020.

• Analysts had been expecting revenues of $32.6 million for the quarter and adjusted earnings per share of one cent.  
• Riot shares were rising 2.4% to $36.58 in after-hours trading Monday following the release of the results. They rose over 4% during the day as bitcoin prices rose above $50,000 earlier in the day for the first time in three months. Shares are up almost 117% year to date.
• Riot closed the acquisition of Whinstone in the quarter, helping create one of the largest hosting and mining companies in North America as measured by developed and future capacity.
• Earlier this month, Riot forecast that its new facility in Texas will lift its total hashrate capacity to 7.7 EH/s by the fourth quarter of 2022. 
• Recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed that asset management giant BlackRock owned a 6.6% stake in Riot, as well as a 6.7% stake in rival miner Marathon Digital, as of the end of the second quarter. Together, BlackRock's stakes in the two companies amounted to almost $400 million.

UPDATE (August 23, 20:55 UTC): Added information about Whinstone in the third bullet point.