VANCOUVER, May 11, 2020 /CNW/ - HIVE Blockchain
Technologies Ltd. (TSX.V:HIVE) (OTCQX:HVBTF) (FSE: HBF) (the
"Company" or "HIVE") is pleased to announce that 750 new Bitmain
S17+ Antminer machines are now operational at its recently acquired
Bitcoin mining operation in Quebec.
The total number of machines utilizing green power to mine
Bitcoin at the facility is now approximately 14,750. The new S17+s
have increased the Company's SHA 256 Bitcoin mining computing power
by approximately a third to 229 Petahashes per second (PH/s). The
Company expects this computing capacity to increase in the near
future following the acquisition of additional new machines.
As previously announced by HIVE, in preparation for the halving
of Bitcoin rewards anticipated today, the Company is planning to
invest at least C$3 million in next
generation SHA 256 Bitcoin mining equipment. The cost for these 750
new machines was approximately US$1,425 per unit, or just over US$1 million, financed through the Company's net
cash.
"The halving of Bitcoin rewards effectively cuts in half the
diminishing finite supply of newly minted Bitcoin, and is an
important milestone for the network," explained Frank Holmes, Interim Executive Chairman of
HIVE. "Bitcoin rewards for miners have halved twice previously, in
2012 and 2016, when the price of Bitcoin was approximately
$12 and $650 respectively, and prices rose significantly
in the ensuing 18 months. Naturally past performance is no
guarantee that previous cycles will repeat themselves, therefore we
have been preparing for the halving through the acquisition of our
own low cost Bitcoin mining operation in April and subsequent
investment in high efficiency computing equipment to both increase
the operational efficiency of our Quebec facility and maximize use of its
existing 30 megawatt power capacity."
HIVE recently commenced Bitcoin mining at its 30 megawatt (MW)
green energy-powered cryptocurrency operation in Quebec (the "Facility"), the acquisition of
which was completed and announced in April.
HIVE is managing the Facility directly through its operational
team, which joined the Company as part of the acquisition. The
addition of in-house cryptocurrency mining operational expertise
was an important aspect of the acquisition, in addition to the
Facility's power capacity and the diversification the operation
provides to the Company's business both geographically and by
blockchain network.
COVID-19 Operational Response
HIVE has enacted various measures to protect its employees and
partners and prevent disruption to operations as a result of
COVID-19, in alignment with local governments as well as national
and international agency recommendations. These include ceasing
non-essential travel and having employees work remotely. The
Company has reduced staff on site at its locations through
aggressive work at home policies; however, the Company has been
able to maintain full uptime of its cryptocurrency mining
operations and its data centres and supply chain continue to
operate with only minimal disruption. The Company operates with a
lean administrative structure and has few employees, as
cryptocurrency mining is not a human capital-intensive industry.
The Company's data centres are located in sparsely populated areas
near the Arctic Circle in Europe
and now in rural Quebec.
Operations management is able to be accomplished remotely and any
necessary equipment maintenance can be achieved by minimal staff
utilizing personal protective equipment and maintaining physical
distancing.
About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is a growth oriented,
TSX.V-listed company building a bridge from the blockchain sector
to traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art digital
currency mining facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland which produce newly minted digital
currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum continuously. Our deployments
provide shareholders with exposure to the operating margins of
digital currency mining as well as a growing portfolio of
crypto-coins.
For more information and to register to HIVE's mailing list,
please visit www.HIVEblockchain.com. Follow @HIVEblockchain on
Twitter and subscribe to HIVE's YouTube channel.
On Behalf of HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
"Frank Holmes"
Interim Executive Chairman
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this news release.
Forward-Looking Information
Except for the statements of historical fact, this news
release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning
of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on
expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news
release. The information in this news
release about future plans and objectives of the Company,
are forward-looking information, including: positive gross mining
margins and expected profitability from the Company's Quebec facility; increased computing capacity
in the near future; the halving of Bitcoin rewards and the
potential effect on the price of Bitcoin; increase in operational
efficiency and acquisition of at least C$3
million in next generation SHA-256 Bitcoin mining equipment;
ongoing response to COVID 19; and the intentions, plans and future
actions of the Company. This forward-looking
information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of
management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others:
the COVID 19 crisis; the Company may not achieve expected revenues
or gross mining margins as currently anticipated, or at all;
operations and an increase in computing capacity and
profitability may not occur as currently anticipated, or at
all; the digital currency market; the ability to successfully mine
digital currency; revenue may not increase as currently
anticipated, or at all; it may not be possible to profitably
liquidate the current digital currency inventory, or at all; a
decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative
impact on operations; the volatility of digital currency prices;
the Company may never realize more efficient operations, a lower
cost structure, or greater flexibility in operation;
risks relating to the global economic climate; dilution;
and other related risks as more fully set out in the Company's
continuous disclosure record filed at www.sedar.com. The
Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside
of the Company's normal course of business.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there
may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking information. The Company
undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward
-looking information other than as required by
law.
SOURCE HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.