- Riot Platforms Inc. reports damage from Texas winter storms.
- CEO says damage affected hash rate goals for the year.
- Despite a lower hash rate, Riot sets a new monthly record of 740 BTC mined.
One of the biggest Bitcoin miners, Riot Platforms Inc., has reported that a considerable amount of its operations are offline due to damage sustained during recent winter storms in Texas. According to an operational update published on February 6, the company said that 17,040 of its 82,656 Bitcoin mining equipment in Rockdale, Texas, were down due to damage sustained during strong winter storms in late December.
According to the announcement, in December, when Texas faced days of subzero temperatures, two of Riot’s buildings at its Whinstone factory were damaged. From the 22nd through the 25th, numerous parts of Texas and the United States saw temperatures drop below freezing point. Per the firm’s CEO, this has affected Riot’s hash rate goals for the year.
“Some sections of piping in Buildings F and G were damaged during the severe winter storms in Texas in late December. As a result of this damage, our previously announced target of reaching 12.5 [exahashes per second] in total hash rate capacity in Q1 2023 is expected to be delayed,” said Riot CEO Jason Les.
Les stated that the facility’s hash rate capacity was initially reduced by 2.5 EH/s due to the damages, with the business reinstating 0.6 EH/s when repairs were made. The Riot service area was hit by yet another ice storm in early February, leaving thousands of Dallas and Austin households without electricity. However, there has been no official indication that Riot’s activities were scaled back during the recent halt due to the strain on the Texas energy grid.
Despite having reduced mining equipment and a lower hash rate, Riot nevertheless set a new monthly record of 740 BTC mined last month. At the time of writing, the highest-ever Bitcoin mining haul is worth approximately $17 million. Compared to the 458 BTC the Texas-based firm produced in January 2022, and the 659 BTC it produced in December 2022, this represents a growth of almost 62% and 12%, respectively.
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