By Keith Noonan
April 3, 2021
What happened
Shares of Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) dipped 26.2% in March, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock surged thanks to momentum for the company's Bitcoin mining operation and strong pricing for the cryptocurrency.
Riot published a business update on March 15, announcing that the company had mined 302 new Bitcoins in the fourth quarter. That update brought its total Bitcoin mining tally for the fiscal year to 1,005. The mining specialist paired the update with news that it would be purchasing 1,500 Antminer cryptocurrency mining rigs from Bitmain Technologies in a $7.53 million deal.
Riot Blockchain has revealed that it had produced 125 new Bitcoins in January, which represented a 23% increase over December's total. Momentum then picked up in February, with the company mining 179 new Bitcoins in the month -- representing a 43% increase compared to January's result.