HIVE Blockchain Announces Commercial Deployment of HIVE BuzzMiner Powered by Intel Blockscale ASIC

by Arthur · January 13, 2023

This press release constitutes a “designated news release” in connection with the Company’s prospectus supplement dated September 2, 2022 to its amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated January 4, 2022.

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – January 13, 2023) – HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: HIVE) (Nasdaq: HIVE) (FSE: HBFA) (the “Company” or “HIVE”) is very pleased to announce its commercial deployment of HIVE BuzzMiner powered by Intel Blockscale ASIC, after months of planning, engineering development, implementation of factory QA processes, field testing and global collaboration.

Frank Holmes, Executive Chairman stated: “HIVE has always strived to innovate as a technology company. Being the first public crypto miner, the first to focus on green energy, the first to mine both Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the first to own and build data centers, we are now very excited to be the first public crypto miner to deploy its own ASIC mining rig. I am very proud of the hard work of our team.”

Mr. Holmes continued, “Our strategy has always been to achieve the best return on invested capital. By vertically integrating our supply chain of ASIC miners, we are executing our strategy to be the most efficient and agile crypto mining company globally. In addition, HIVE BuzzMiner is our proof that Proof-of-Work is the safest and most robust consensus mechanism for digital assets, of which Bitcoin is the most secure. We are proud that our contributions to securing the Bitcoin network can now include HIVE BuzzMiner.”

Aydin Kilic, President & COO of HIVE, added, “HIVE BuzzMiner is a high-quality and robust machine and we are very pleased with the finished product. Our strategy to vertically integrate our business to include the development and production of our own Bitcoin ASIC miner, represents a significant milestone in HIVE’s advancement of our green energy-focused Proof-of-Work initiatives.In addition to having design input and visibility, we are able to optimize the function of the HIVE BuzzMiner to satisfy demand response programs so that we can participate in grid balancing initiatives, which are part of our global energy strategy. What is unique about HIVE BuzzMiner is its dynamic operating range. We are able to operate our machines from 110 TH/s to 130 TH/s, allowing us to optimize profitability to our fleet by varying power consumption and machine efficiency. Accordingly, our first build of 5,800 HIVE BuzzMiners can produce between 638 PH/s to 754 PH/s.”

The company is pleased to announce the performance of HIVE BuzzMiner, now that over 1500 machines have been deployed globally in our data centers in Canada and Sweden, and we have seen the expected performance targets achieved. The company notes that previous estimates of over 1 Exahash were based on total ASIC allocation of block scale chips with Intel to produce 13,000 HIVE BuzzMiners. To methodically scale the business during the crypto bear market, HIVE’s first production run for 2022 was set at 5,800 units. Consequently, this is reflected in the hashrate estimates. HIVE retains the option to produce more HIVE BuzzMiners.

Mr. Kilic continued, “We use advanced multivariate mathematical models to study ever-changing hashrate economics, and closely monitor the production cost of each Bitcoin at our various data centers, along with the ROI of our investments, which varies with ASIC mining performance. This is the key to successfully navigating crypto bear markets and maximizing profits in bull markets. We can now modulate the ASIC mining performance with our HIVE BuzzMiners for optimal returns. I am very pleased with the tactical execution of HIVE and Intel, which has involved inter-disciplinary engineering expertise in hardware, software, firmware, thermodynamics and quality assurance.”

William Gray, CTO of HIVE, stated: “I have been involved in crypto mining since 2011. It is a dream come true to oversee the deployment of our own ASIC miner, and especially in partnership with Intel, a Fortune 500 company. We have the ability to develop our own API calls, collect test data at the microchip level, and fine-tune the device to optimize performance. This also lays the foundation for future ASIC system development. At HIVE, we strive for optimal efficiency, we have a high-performance culture. Recently decade, I have seen many presumptive companies attempt to build their own Bitcoin ASIC miner. It is a technically complex feat that requires multidisciplinary expertise. We are fortunate to have such a skilled technical team at HIVE, who have been able to exploit the the vast resources of the Intel Corporation.”

Mr. Jose Rios, General Manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions in the Accelerated Computing and Graphics Group at Intel added: “We are thrilled to see the world’s first Intel Blockscale ASIC powered systems go live with the new HIVE BuzzMiner. Blockscale was designed. optimizing both energy efficiency and hashrate throughput enables partner systems that can help mining companies achieve both sustainability and hashrate goals At Intel, we are excited about the potential of HIVE’s BuzzMiner system developed in close collaboration with HIVE’s engineering team and we look forward to continued deployment of these systems in the coming years.”

Figure 1: HIVE BuzzMiner powered by Intel BlockScale ASIC

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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5335/151241_picture1.jpg

Figure 2: HIVE BuzzMiners in action

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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5335/151241_picture2.jpg

RSU scholarship

The company announced that the board has approved the award of a total of 1,200,000 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to the company’s board members and one officer, which vest over 12 months. Each earned RSU entitles the holder to receive one common share of the company. The grant of RSUs is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.

HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. went public in 2017 as the first cryptocurrency mining company with a green energy and ESG strategy.

HIVE is a growth-oriented technology share in the emerging blockchain industry. As a company whose shares are traded on a major exchange, we are building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data center facilities in Canada, Sweden and Iceland, where we strive to source only green energy to mine digital assets such as Bitcoin on the cloud. Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of the treasury of ETH and BTC derived from mining rewards. Our shares give investors exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of cryptocurrencies, primarily BTC. Because HIVE also owns hard assets such as data centers and advanced multipurpose servers, we believe our shares offer investors an attractive way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space.

We encourage you to visit HIVE’s YouTube channel here to learn more about HIVE.

For more information and to sign up for HIVE’s mailing list, please visit www.HIVEblockchain.com. Follow @HIVEblockchain on Twitter and subscribe to HIVE’s YouTube channel.

On behalf of HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
“Frank Holmes”
Executive Chairman

For more information please contact:
Frank Holmes
Phone: (604) 664-1078

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the TSX Venture Exchange Policy) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-looking information

Except for the statements of historical fact, this press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this press release. “Forward-looking information” in this news release includes, but is not limited to, business goals and objectives of the Company; the ability of HIVE BuzzMiners to operate at expected performance levels, the benefits of expanding the distribution of HIVE BuzzMiners, the continued viability of its existing Bitcoin Mining operations and other forward-looking information about the intentions, plans and future actions of HIVE BuzzMiners. the parties to the transactions described herein and the terms thereof.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the volatility of the digital currency market; the Company’s ability to mine digital currency; The Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency holdings as needed, or at all; a material decline in digital currency prices could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business; the volatility of digital currency prices; continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s performance as supply chains are disrupted and prevent the Company from executing its expansion plans or operating its assets; and other related risks as more fully described in the registration statement of the Company and other documents disclosed during the Company’s filings on www.sec.gov/EDGAR and www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking information in this press release reflects the company’s current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs based on information available to the company. In connection with the forward-looking information in this press release, the company has made assumptions about the company’s goals, objectives or future plans, the timing of these and related matters. The company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside the company’s normal operations. Although the Company believes that the assumptions contained in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and, accordingly, such information should not be relied upon due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.