HIVE increases Bitcoin production in first full quarter without Ethereum mining

Crypto miner HIVE Blockchain increased its Bitcoin production in the last three months of last year, despite the ongoing crypto winter and its end Ethereum mining.

The Vancouver-based business mined 787 new Bitcoins in the quarter ending December 31, 2022, a 13% year-over-year increase. In a statement, the company chalked up the higher production to the completion of the data center in New Brunswick.

Even with low Bitcoin prices and increasing mining difficulty, miners like HIVE have continued to produce more Bitcoin.

Last month, for example, mining company Riot Platforms reported a new all-time high in its BTC production.

Despite the increased production, HIVE brought in just $14.3 million in revenue for the quarter, less than half of the $29.6 million total it earned in the previous three-month period.

The numbers reflected HIVE’s first full quarter without Ethereum mining revenue, following the protocol’s transition to proof of effort in September in a process known as “Merge”.

As a result of various factors, including the merger and a drop in crypto prices, HIVE had a net loss of $90.4 million for the quarter.

HIVE copes with headwinds

Despite the loss, CEO Frank Holmes remained optimistic. That’s because the company is ready to launch its HIVE Performance Cloud (HPC), a platform for accelerated cloud computing using green energy.

The launch is slated for the second quarter of 2023, and according to Holmes, it could bring in business from beyond the blockchain world, even tapping into the first emerging AI sector.

“We are sad to see that the higher margin from Ethereum mining is gone; However, our HPC strategy, which has taken longer to roll out, is now growing rapidly on a monthly basis,” he said.

The results cap a period when so many crypto miners are struggling for solidity, with the likes of Compute North and Core Scientific filing for bankruptcy last year. Several firms also turned to dumping their Bitcoin reserves to shore up their balance sheets.

In contrast, HIVE has increased its Bitcoin holdings by 30% year-over-year, ending 2022 with 2,372 Bitcoin.

The company also uses a net balancing strategy to earn additional revenue. By selling the power back to the grid during times of high demand in December, the company brought in revenue equivalent to mining 184 Bitcoin, according to its update for that month.

However, in January of this year, online balancing earnings were only worth the equivalent of 10 Bitcoin.