Castle Rock, CO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) (“Riot” or “the Company”), an industry leader in Bitcoin (“BTC”) mining and data center hosting, announces unaudited production and operations updates for January 2023.

Bitcoin Production and Operations Updates for January 2023

• Riot produced 740 BTC, an increase of approximately 62% as compared to January 2022 production of 458 BTC.
• Riot held approximately 6,978 BTC as of January 31, 2023, all produced by the Company’s self-mining operations.
• Riot sold 700 BTC, generating net proceeds of approximately $13.7 million.
• Riot had a deployed fleet of 82,656 miners, with a hash rate capacity of 9.3 exahash per second (“EH/s”), as of January 31, 2023.
• Riot’s deployed fleet excludes 17,040 miners that are offline as a result of damage to Building G from the severe winter weather in late December in Texas.

“I am proud to announce that Riot’s track record with month-over-month increases in total Bitcoin production continued, with a new all-time high of 740 Bitcoin produced in January. Despite a reduction in our deployed fleet and hash rate capacity driven by recent damage to our Rockdale Facility, Riot has continued to deliver new record highs, mining more Bitcoin in January than in any month prior,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot.

“As previously disclosed, some sections of piping in Buildings F and G were damaged during the severe winter storms in Texas in late December, impacting approximately 2.5 EH/s of our hash rate capacity. Repairs have been ongoing in both buildings, and we have successfully brought Building F back online, representing 0.6 EH/s of impacted hash rate capacity. We are thankful for our team’s progress, despite difficult weather conditions, and are evaluating several options to bring online the approximately 1.9 EH/s of hash rate capacity still affected in Building G.

“Unfortunately, as a result of this damage, our previously announced target of reaching 12.5 EH/s in total hash rate capacity in Q1 2023 is expected to be delayed. We will provide additional updates as we obtain greater clarity on the impact to our planned deployment schedule. In the meantime, the remaining infrastructure build-out at our Rockdale Facility continues to progress, with Building E now at 50% completion and on track to be fully completed this quarter, and we are continuing to execute on the expansion at our Corsicana Facility.”

Mining Deployment and Shipment Update

During the month of January, Riot received 5,130 new S19-series miners, deployed 6,912 S19-series miners, and ended the month with approximately 1,152 miners staged for deployment. Upon deployment of the staged miners, the Company expects to have a total of 83,808 miners deployed (which excludes 17,040 miners currently offline in Building G) with a hash rate capacity of approximately 9.4 EH/s.

The receipt of January’s miner shipment concludes all of Riot’s miner purchase agreements with Bitmain Technologies Ltd. The Company is currently evaluating options for utilizing planned capacity at its Corsicana facility for further hash rate growth.

Infrastructure Update

Last month, Riot announced that Building D, one of the Company’s air-cooled buildings, had reached completion with miners deployed. Along with the completion of Building D, external water systems continue development to enhance the building’s evaporative cooling system. Riot’s construction and engineering teams continue to work on Building E, with the installation of external wall louvers, interior water frames, and electrical testing.

Estimated Hash Rate Growth

Due to the ongoing impact of damage incurred to Buildings F and G during the severe winter storms in Texas in late December, Riot currently anticipates a delay to our previously stated goal of achieving a total self-mining hash rate capacity of 12.5 EH/s in Q1 2023, which assumed full deployment of approximately 113,520 Antminer ASICs. The Company is evaluating its repair options and will provide additional information on deployment timelines as it becomes available.

Human Resources

Riot is currently recruiting for positions across the Company. Join our team in building, expanding, and securing the Bitcoin network. Open positions are available at:  https://riotplatforms.com/careers.

About Riot Platforms, Inc.

Riot’s (NASDAQ: RIOT) vision is to be the world’s leading Bitcoin-driven infrastructure platform.

Our mission is to positively impact the sectors, networks and communities that we touch.  We believe that the combination of an innovative spirit and strong community partnership allows the Company to achieve best-in-class execution and create successful outcomes.

Riot is a Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure company focused on a vertically integrated strategy. The Company has Bitcoin mining data center operations in central Texas, Bitcoin mining operations in central Texas, and electrical switchgear engineering and fabrication operations in Denver, Colorado.

For more information, visit www.riotplatforms.com.

Safe Harbor

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current expectations, assumptions, and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements rely on the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “potential,” “hope,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of acquisitions, including financial and operating results, and the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations, and intentions. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: unaudited estimates of Bitcoin production; our future hash rate growth (EH/s); the anticipated benefits, construction schedule, and costs associated with the Navarro site expansion; our expected schedule of new miner deliveries; our ability to successfully deploy new miners; M.W. capacity under development; we may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits from immersion-cooling; the integration of acquired businesses may not be successful, or such integration may take longer or be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than anticipated; failure to otherwise realize anticipated efficiencies and strategic and financial benefits from our acquisitions; and the impact of COVID-19 on us, our customers, or on our suppliers in connection with our estimated timelines. Detailed information regarding the factors identified by the Company’s management which they believe may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements in this press release may be found in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as amended, and the other filings the Company makes with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which the Company hereafter becomes aware, except as required by law. Persons reading this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.