Tag: Argo Blockchain

Argo Blockchain Increases Daily Bitcoin Production Despite Network Difficulty Spike

by Blockchain News

Publicly-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Argo Blockchain has reported an increase in its daily Bitcoin production for the month of February, despite a significant spike in network difficulty. According to the operational update released on March 7, Argo mined 162 Bitcoin or BTC equivalents during the month, translating to a daily production rate of 5.7 BTC. This is a 7% increase from the 5.4 BTC per day produced in January.

Bitcoin mining difficulty is a measure that defines how hard it is to mine a BTC block. It requires more hash rate or additional computing power to verify transactions and mine new coins. In February, the BTC network difficulty surged to new all-time highs, hitting a difficulty rate of 43 trillion on Feb. 25, as per data from Blockchain.com.

Despite the network difficulty spike, Argo’s production rate has increased, thanks to the company’s investment in new mining equipment and a focus on increasing efficiency. The news comes amid the industry anticipating the next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment expected to occur on March 10. According to data from BTC.com, the next difficulty is estimated to reach 43.4 trillion.

Argo Blockchain sold its flagship mining facility Helios to Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital amid the tough crypto market of 2022. However, despite the sale, Argo has continued to mine using Galaxy’s facility, and its production rate has been steadily increasing. Months before the transaction, Argo’s monthly BTC mining generated more than 200 BTC.

Argo is not the only mining firm that seems unaffected by the BTC difficulty spike in February. Other miners like Cipher Mining produced 16% more Bitcoin over January, and Marathon Digital increased its average daily Bitcoin produced by 10% compared to January. However, Hut 8 mining firm saw its daily Bitcoin production rate drop from 6 BTC in January to 5.6 BTC in February.

Argo Blockchain has been focusing on expanding its operations to capitalize on the increasing demand for Bitcoin mining services. The company recently announced plans to establish a Bitcoin mining facility in West Texas, which is expected to have a capacity of up to 200 megawatts and is slated to begin operations in Q4 2022.

In conclusion, despite the network difficulty spike, Argo Blockchain’s focus on increasing efficiency and investment in new equipment has led to an increase in its daily Bitcoin production rate. The company’s expansion plans and investment in new facilities suggest that it is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for Bitcoin mining services.

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Bitcoin Miner Argo Updates Computing Power to 3.2 EH/s at the end of 2022

by Blockchain News

U.K.-based publicly traded cryptocurrency miner Argo Blockchain said on Wednesday it plans to update its year-end computing power from 5.5 EH/s to 3.2 EH/s by the end of 2022, a drop of 41.8%.

The total hash rate at the end of July was around 2.23EH/s. This figure takes into account that the company continues to install the S19J pro ordered from Bitmain and complete the replacement of the core unit.

CEO Peter Wall said the downward revision was due to a collaboration with ePIC and Intel to improve the miner design to increase overall mining efficiency, which delayed expected deployment plans.

“The revision to our hashrate guidance reflects our current expectations for delivery and deployment of the custom machines we are developing with ePIC Blockchain Technologies that utilize the Intel Blockscale ASIC chipsWe have worked closely with ePIC and Intel to modify the machine design to increase total mining efficiency, which has delayed our expected deployment schedule.”

Additionally, Argo said that in July, it sold 887 bitcoins at an average price of around $22,670. The company said it used the funds to reduce debt with Galaxy Digital under a BTC-backed loan agreement and to cover operating expenses and growth capital.

As of July 31, Argo mentioned that it had an outstanding balance of $6.72 million under BTC secured loans, a significant decrease from the highest outstanding balance of $50 million in the second quarter of 2022.

The company expects the hash rate to rise to 4.1 EH/s by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

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Bitcoin Miner Argo Updatesc Computing Power to 3.2 EH/s at the end of 2022

by Blockchain News

U.K.-based publicly traded cryptocurrency miner Argo Blockchain said on Wednesday it plans to update its year-end computing power from 5.5 EH/s to 3.2 EH/s by the end of 2022, a drop of 41.8%.

The total hash rate at the end of July was around 2.23EH/s. This figure takes into account that the company continues to install the S19J pro ordered from Bitmain and complete the replacement of the core unit.

CEO Peter Wall said the downward revision was due to a collaboration with ePIC and Intel to improve the miner design to increase overall mining efficiency, which delayed expected deployment plans.

“The revision to our hashrate guidance reflects our current expectations for delivery and deployment of the custom machines we are developing with ePIC Blockchain Technologies that utilize the Intel Blockscale ASIC chipsWe have worked closely with ePIC and Intel to modify the machine design to increase total mining efficiency, which has delayed our expected deployment schedule.”

Additionally, Argo said that in July, it sold 887 bitcoins at an average price of around $22,670. The company said it used the funds to reduce debt with Galaxy Digital under a BTC-backed loan agreement and to cover operating expenses and growth capital.

As of July 31, Argo mentioned that it had an outstanding balance of $6.72 million under BTC secured loans, a significant decrease from the highest outstanding balance of $50 million in the second quarter of 2022.

The company expects the hash rate to rise to 4.1 EH/s by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

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Argo Blockchain Announces 1st Quarter Financial Results

by Blockchain News

Argo Blockchain has released its financial report for the first quarter of 2022. It showed total quarterly revenue of $19.52 million, up from $17.84 million in the same period last year, attributed to an increase in hash rate over the past year.

The London-listed Bitcoin mining company said factors such as changes in the fair value of digital currencies for the three months ended March 31, 2022. The company’s net income for the first quarter of 2022 was $2.1 million, compared to $25.3 million a year ago.

Gross profit was $1.92 million compared to $27.13 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Argo Blockchain is a global data centre for business that provides a powerful and efficient platform for cryptocurrency mining operations.

As the London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain officially launched its flagship mining facility Helios in Texas this month, the Bitcoin mining hash rate is expected to jump from late last year’s 1.6 EH/s to 5.5 EH/s by the end of 2022.

Argo Blockchain said 470 bitcoins were produced in the quarter, an increase of about 21% from the 387 in the same quarter of 2021, with a mining profit margin of 76% and an average cost of $9,779 per bitcoin.

As of April 30, Argo owned about 2,700 bitcoins and bitcoin equivalents, all of which were mined by the company itself, the company said.

Argo has borrowed $70.6 million in recent weeks from a New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) subsidiary to expand its 200-megawatt Helios, Texas, infrastructure project, which is expected to rise to 800 megawatts.

CEO Peter Wall added: “To be a successful miner you need three components – power, miners, and capital. We already have a strong foundation for growth at Helios with our access to 800 MW of power capacity.”

Argo Blockchain had been building out the data centre in Texas, drawing on support through a short-term loan of $20 million it secured from Galaxy Digital back in June last year.

According to the company’s official website, they champion the use of renewable sources of power to support the growth and development of blockchain technologies.

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Mining company Argo Blockchain to Launch Flagship Mining Facility in Texas

by Blockchain News

The London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain will officially launch its flagship mining facility Helios in Texas next week.

According to the company’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, The first phase of development of Helios will utilize 200 MW of power generation capacity, and Argo’s hash rate will increase by 243% and is expected to reach 5.5 EH/s by the end of 2022.

Per the filing, Helios also has up to 600 MW of additional generating capacity, enabling Argo’s operations to grow significantly to more than 20 EH/s.

Argo Blockchain has been making an emphatic move into the North American market in the past few years, citing the cheap and renewable energy sources available in various areas in the region.

Argo Blockchain has signed a partnership agreement with Core Scientific, and the two parties will exchange their respective bitcoin mining machines in the coming months.

The installation of the Bitmain S19J Pro mining rig has already started and will continue until July.

Argo Blockchain had been building out the data centre in Texas, drawing on support through a short-term loan of $20 million it secured from Galaxy Digital back in June last year.

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Argo Blockchain Inks Bitcoin Mining Machine Swap Agreement with Core Scientific

by Blockchain News

The London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain has inked a partnership with Core Scientific that will see both companies swap their BTC mining machines over the next few months. 

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According to the announcement from the two outfits, the Argo’s Bitmain Antminer S19 series bitcoin mining fleet hosted at Core will be swapped for S19J Pro bitcoin miners previously ordered by Core to be delivered directly to Argo’s new Helios facility in Texas State. Per the details shared, this fleet swap will represent “approximately 60% of Argo’s total mining capacity and will reduce operational expenses for Argo as part of its ongoing transition to operating its own mining facilities.”

The proposed S19J Pro Bitcoin miners on track to be delivered to Argo Blockchain has the capacity for 967 PH/s with the miners capable of delivering a maximum hash rate of 110 TH/s. Based on these specifications, it implies that as many as 9,000 miners are on track to be delivered to Argo Blockchain.

On the other hand, the miners on track to become Core Scientific’s fleet has the capacity for 958 petahashes per second (PH/s), capable of delivering a total of 95 terahashes per second (TH/s), a specification that will amount to a total of 10,000 units of the S19 series. 

“The agreement with Core marks the final step towards our strategic objective of owning and operating all our miners, a path which we chose to pursue in 2020,” said Peter Wall, Chief Executive Officer of Argo. “While we have been pleased with the performance of our miners hosted with Core, this agreement allows us to upgrade our existing fleet and strengthen our mining infrastructure, while greatly reducing the operational risk of relocating between facilities. Finally, we greatly appreciate the hosting services provided by Core Scientific, as well as their flexibility in supporting our strategy shift.”

It is not uncommon to find mainstream crypto mining startups paying third-party hosting service providers to manage their fleet and mine their assets. In a bid to be free from these obligations, Argo Blockchain had been building out the data center in Texas, drawing on support through a short-term loan of $20 million it secured from Galaxy Digital back in June last year.

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Argo Blockchain among most traded stocks by Fidelity customers

by Cointelegraph

Financial services company Fidelity Investments’ U.K. arm reported that over the last 12 months customers were most interested in trading shares of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain. 

In a Thursday report, Fidelity said Argo Blockchain ranked third among the top five stocks most actively traded by its customers in 2021 — the others were Rolls-Royce, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines, oil giant BP, and Lloyds Banking Group. Argo, which Fidelity described as a “trending” stock, also ranked third among stocks traded by Self-Invested Personal Pension, or SIPP, investors.

However, the financial services company hinted that Argo may not make the top five next year. According to Fidelity, “new arrivals” knocked the mining firm off the list of most actively traded stocks in December, including COVID-19 test manufacturer Genedrive, fast fashion retailer Boohoo Group, and engineering firm Smiths Group.

One of the first crypto mining firms to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, Argo Blockchain has steadily expanded its operations. Argo became more accessible to U.S. investors through a public listing on the Nasdaq in September. In addition, the firm is currently constructing a facility on a 320-acre land plot in West Texas, aiming for “access to up to 800 [megawatts] of electrical power” to mine Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.

According to data from its website, Argo’s facilities in North America are currently using 45 MW of electricity to generate more than 1.6 exahashes per second of Bitcoin. As of the end of November, the company reported it had generated 1,831 BTC and held 2,317 Bitcoin or “Bitcoin Equivalent” — roughly $93 million and $118 million at the time of publication, respectively.

Related: Argo Blockchain mines record 597 BTC during Q3 2021

Shares of Argo are currently trading on the London Stock Exchange at a price of $130.10, having fallen more than 65% since reaching an all-time high of $380.96 in February.