Bitfarms mined 21% more Bitcoin in June amid Riot takeover attempts

Bitcoin miner Bitfarms upped its month-on-month Bitcoin ( BTC ) production by 21% in June whilst fending off attempts of a company takeover by Riot Platforms, one of its biggest competitors.

Bitfarms mined 189 Bitcoin in the month and sold 134 of those Bitcoins for $8.8 million, the firm revealed in a July 1 statement. It now holds 905 Bitcoin, worth $57 million, in its treasury.

However, its Bitcoin production fell 51% compared to June, 2023, due to the latest halving event slicing the block subsidy by 50%.

The Canadian-based miner increased its installed hashrate to 11.4 exahashes per second in June — 10.4 EH/s of which is online — and is still “on track” to reach its 21 EH/s target by 2024’s end.

The 10.4 EH/s marks a 96% year-on-year and 39% month-on-month increase.

Bitfarms has focused on updating its fleet in 2024, installing roughly 39,000 new miners and unplugging 39,000 older, less-efficient miners, said Ben Gagnon, Bitfarms’ chief mining officer.

“[This has] significantly expanded our hashrate and improved our energy efficiency and gross mining margins across our portfolio.”

Bitfarms also expanded its operations in the United States with a 120 Megawatt site in Sharon, Pennsylvania, which will support an additional 8 EH/s once installed.

Mining operations at its Paso Pe facility in Paraguay was curtailed due to “severe weather” in June.

However, this setback was partially offset by a 0.8% decrease in network difficulty compared to May, Bitfarms noted.

Riot Platforms takeover attempts

It comes as Riot Platforms attempted to acquire Bitfarms with a $950 million buyout offer in mid-June, though the company later admitted defeat.

“[It’s] clear that engaging with the incumbent Bitfarms Board on a potential combination is just not possible,” Riot said in a June 24 statement.

Related: Bitcoin miner sell pressure ‘weakening’ as BTC withdrawals drop 85%

Riot managed to buy a 14.9% stake in Bitfarms on or before June 24 but attempts at 15% or more were blocked.

Riot also tried to replace three Bitfarms board of directors during the month but that attempt hasn’t been successful either. Bitfarms added a board member of its own soon after to deter Riot’s takeover attempts.

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