Vancouver, Canada – HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSX.V:HIVE) (OTCQX:HVBTF) (FSE:HBF) (the “Company” or “HIVE”) is pleased announce that it has received confirmation from Bodens Energi Nt AB for an additional guaranteed 10 MW of green energy electricity for its GPU data centre in Sweden. This increase is on top of the previously announced 2 MW expansion on January 28, 2021. These combined expansions increase the capacity of the facility by over 50% from 21 MW to 33 MW. Presently we are securing new state of the art performing GPU cards for this expansion.
Ethereum Classic
As previously announced in April of this year, HIVE started mining Ethereum Classic before the prices surged to the current price of US$75 a coin, and continues to mine Ethereum Classic due to its profitability. We have chosen to mine and sell Ethereum Classic to assist in covering electricity and basic general & administrative costs while saving in cold wallets our Bitcoin and Ethereum production.
Only Crypto Miner Mining Ethereum and Coin Inventory (HODL)
HIVE continues to be a Holder of mined Bitcoin and Ethereum coins and has been banking them in cold wallets. Our continued strategy is one to continue holding coins, as we feel that it will benefit our shareholders. The current dollar value of our crypto assets is approximately US $79 million (based on US $2,700 Ethereum and US $38,500 Bitcoin) and cash is US $36 million. The value of the coins have been volatile while our cash position remains stable and healthy.
This HODL strategy has led to the strengthening of our balance sheet and liquidity which is a substantial improvement from where we were a year ago.
ESG Strategy- Bitcoin Mining Council, Michael Saylor and Elon Musk Meeting
Recently there has been substantial volatility due to Elon Musk’s pronouncements and then China’s shut down in Crypto mining. It is great news for the global economy that China is shutting down mining which is mostly from coal generated electricity. Frank Holmes, Executive Chairman said “It was great to participate in the special meeting held on Sunday May 23, 2021 championed by Michael Saylor and special guest Elon Musk along with CEO’s from many of the largest crypto mining companies.”
“The meeting was productive and the bottom line is we agreed to establish a Bitcoin Mining Council to promote education, transparency on sources of energy and accountability for sustainable mining. Further this new organization will strive to standardize energy reporting and set a high bar for ESG standards of care. We believe there is a major macro shift happening and crypto mining is shifting to North America and Europe where executives are more serious and responsible about lowering their carbon footprint. I was proud that not only were we the first public crypto mining company in 2017 but that we have always had an ESG strategy and a focus on only mining with green energy. Finally I was pleased to see other CEO’s agree to our goals and would like to thank Michael Saylor for his stewardship and Elon Musk for his ideas and candor.”
Global Logistics and Chip Challenges
As we have mentioned before, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact logistics and the supply of miners from Asia. Today’s announcement is part of our continuing strategy to increase our GPU mining capacity. HIVE intends to continue utilizing cash flow to make opportunistic investments in ASIC and GPU new and next generation mining equipment that can provide positive gross mining margins.