Crypto Miner Argo Blockchain Faced Equipment Challenges, Higher Costs in July
The London-based company produced 219 bitcoins in the month, 22% more than in June.
Aug 5, 2022 at 8:37 a.m. UTCUpdated May 11, 2023 at 4:20 p.m. UTC
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Crypto miner Argo Blockchain (ARB) mined 219 bitcoins (BTC) or bitcoin equivalents in July, 22% more than in June, even as it combated equipment problems and higher electricity costs.
- Power costs at its Helios facility in Texas were greater than expected, partly because of higher natural gas prices and partly because increased demand for air-conditioning during the unusually hot summer has driven up electricity prices.
- While Texas and other U.S. states are generally friendly toward mining firms, the relationships could become strained should their presence put a burden on the electricity supply during periods of heightened demand.
- Several mining firms halted operations in the state last month to minimize the threat of power outages that would affect people's homes. Riot Blockchain pocketed $9.5 million in power credits as a result of curtailing its output.
- Argo, which is based in London, also had failures among its S17 and T17 miners, which it said reflects wider mining industry experience. Argo found that a large number of its 17 series machines are not operational or suitable for repair. With the removal of those machines, Argo's hashrate in July stood at 2.23 exahashes per second, largely unchanged from its 2.22EH/s in June as new S19J Pros were installed. Hashrate is a measure of computing power.
- During the month, Argo raised around $20 million from the sale of 887 BTC and used some of the proceeds to pay back some of its loan from Galaxy Digital for the purchase of the Helios facility. The loan balance outstanding stood at $6.72 million at the end of July.
- Shares of Argos, traded on the London Stock Exchange, fell about 3% as of 8:22 UTC. They have fallen around 55% this year following the trend of bitcoin's price.
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UPDATE (Aug. 5 09:52 UTC): Adds second and third bullets with wider mining industry context. Adds ARB shares year-to-date.
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Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.