HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE), the owner and operator of cryptocurrency mining centers today announced that it has received regulatory approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for their previously announced deployment of 100 Petahashes (PH) of cloud-based ASIC mining capacity. This marks a 50% increase to 300 PH, which is being deployed to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The approval for the increased ASIC capacity comes as Ethereum has experienced a surge in value by more than 70% since early December 2018. HIVE continues to mine Ethereum using assets with cumulative GPU capacity of 24.2 Megawatts (MW) located in Iceland and Sweden.
“I am pleased that we have received regulatory approval related to the deployment of 100 Petahashes of ASIC mining capacity at economic terms that we consider favorable for HIVE in a volatile cryptocurrency market,” said Frank Holmes, HIVE Interim Executive Chairman. “We believe that the transaction, which included the issuance of shares at levels meaningfully higher than the stock was trading, shows tremendous support by our partners and demonstrates the many benefits of our strategic partnership with Genesis. HIVE remains bullish on the long-term value of blockchain applications and the role that Bitcoin and Ethereum will play in the ecosystem despite continued volatility of cryptocurrency prices.”
“The surge in Ethereum pricing since early December is impressive, now up more than 70% since setting new lows for 2018 last month,” added Frank Holmes. “We continue to participate in the Ethereum ecosystem using our facilities in Iceland and Sweden and HIVE maintains an inventory of Ethereum and Bitcoin as we are bullish on the long-term potential of cryptocurrencies broadly.”
On November 30, 2018, HIVE announced that it had reached an agreement with Genesis to deploy 100 PH of ASIC mining capacity at a cost of USD $6 million, payable as USD $2.5 million in cash or Ethereum and an additional $3.5 million in the form of 8,317,490 common shares, valued at approximately C$0.55 per share, a significant premium to HIVE’s trading price.
The 8,317,490 common shares issued pursuant to the closing of this agreement are subject to a hold period until May 3, 2019. As previously announced, the cost per Petahash is significantly reduced versus previous ASIC deployments and the agreement includes a 6-month option, starting January 1, 2019, for HIVE to add a further 100 PH’s at the same economic terms.