4th Mar 2020 12:32
(Alliance News) - Argo Blockchain PLC said Wednesday it saw a sharp rise in bitcoin mining in February.
The cryptocurrency miner said it mined 337.5 bitcoin or bitcoin equivalent in February, up 37% on January.
Based on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during the month, Argo said it generated mining revenue of GBP2.5 million during the month. Which represents a 56% rise on its mining income in January.
"Argo generated this income at a mining margin of 50% and the company continues to consider its operations to be among the most efficient in the market. Mining conditions in February and algorithmic difficulty were broadly unchanged from the previous month," Argo added.
The company also noted it has met its target of having 17,000 machines in production by the end of the first quarter. Argo has now invested a total of GBP7.4 million in its machine production.
This takes Argo's installed and operational mining capacity to 665 petahash. A hash rate is an indicator of a network's health, with a hash being part of a calculation that is needed to verify a bitcoin transaction.
The company has ordered a further 1,000 machines, for GBP1.2 million, expecting to takes its capacity to about 730 petahash.
Chief Executive Peter Wall said: "We are immensely proud to have successfully executed the roll-out of 17,000 machines, which is part of the company's strategy to become of one of the world's largest and most efficient cryptomining infrastructures owned and operated by a publicly-listed company.
"This investment was completed ahead of schedule and on budget and puts Argo in a strong competitive position to benefit from the industry's growth."
He continued: "We are also making a further small investment in new hardware to remain at the industry's forefront. We remain optimistic about the company's prospects for 2020 and look to the future with confidence."
Turning to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Argo said its mining operations, which are located in North America, have not been impacted by the virus.
Shares in Argo Blockchain were down slightly in London on Wednesday at 5.64 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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