Crypto miner Hive Digital drops ‘blockchain’ from name amid pivot to AI

July 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Hive made the rebrand to reflect its “evolving focus” on revenue opportunities in AI, cloud computing and GPUs.

Crypto mining firm Hive Blockchain has rebranded to Hive Digital Technologies to highlight its foray into artificial intelligence (AI).

In a July 12 statement, the Vancouver, Canada-based mining company said it has dropped “blockchain” from its name to better represent the company’s “evolving focus” on revenue opportunities in graphics processing units (GPUs) and cloud computing, as well as “its mission to drive advancements in AI” and support the “new Web3 ecosystem.”

“As we expand our GPU Cloud business, we require a strategy that better reflects both sides of our business. We build infrastructure for emerging digital tech, not just blockchain, and we intend to utilize our large fleet of GPUs to grow a cloud hosting business,” said Hive’s CEO Aydin Kilic in a July 12 filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

We're excited to announce that today we officially changed our name to .

The name better reflects our evolving focus on cloud compute technology, AI and the Web3 ecosystem.

Read the press release: https://t.co/yczuLivGq6 pic.twitter.com/5jijZFqdeI
— HIVE Digital Technologies (@HIVEDigitalTech) July 12, 2023

Additionally, Hive said that it will use its 38,000-strong fleet of Nvidia GPUs to provide small and medium-sized businesses with a more efficient alternative to major cloud service providers.

“We believe AI and machine learning are going to drive significant demand for GPU compute going forward,“ Kilic added.

While most crypto mining companies today focus on mining proof-of-work cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Hive was among a handful of firms that leveraged GPUs to mine Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, at scale.

Following the completion of the Ethereum Merge in September 2022 — which saw the blockchain transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, removing the need for miners — the GPUs once used to mine ETH were drastically less profitable.

Hive isn’t the first mining company to drop “blockchain” from its namesake. On Jan. 3, Bitcoin mining firm Riot Blockchain rebranded to Riot Platforms in a bid to reflect its “increasingly diversified business operations.”

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0 — The race to build safe and legal coin mixers

Hive Blockchain revenue declines by 44% Y/Y despite overall mining production surge

November 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

ASICs

The company mined 31% more Bitcoin than in the same quarter last year.

According to its second-quarter (ending Sept. 30) earnings presentation released on Nov. 15, Vancouver-based digital assets mining company Hive Blockchain’s revenue declined by 44% year over year to $29.6 million. During the same period, the company’s net income also decreased from $59.8 million in the prior year’s quarter to a loss of $37 million.

Hive Blockchain’s net income was notably higher than its revenue in Q2 2022, as the company also recognized over $22 million worth of gains on the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) it mined. Although the company did not suffer material capital losses on coins in Q2 2023, it did, however, record a $26.2 million impairment expense to its mining rigs.

The company’s losses appear to have intensified even though its Bitcoin mining capabilities have further scaled. Year over year, Hive Blockchain mined 31% more BTC than in Q2 2022 for a total of 858 coins, which still has more value after accounting for a 15.9% year-over-year decline in its ETH mining, which amounted to 7,309 coins in the quarter.

The overall production increase was attributed to the opening of the firm’s New Brunswick Bitcoin mining facility over the past 12 months, which brought over 17,300 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners online. Expressing his optimism about the company’s operations, executive chairman Frank Holmes commented:

“Strategically, we have not borrowed expensive debt against our mining equipment or pledged our Bitcoins for costly loans, thus our balance sheet remains healthy to weather this storm. We believe our low coupon fixed debt; attractive green renewable energy prices and high performing energy efficient ASIC chips will help us navigate through this crypto winter.”

However, the company has warned of higher operating expenses going forward due to record-high mining difficulty. Currently, Hive Blockchain encompasses approximately 0.85% of the Bitcoin network’s hash rate. At the quarter’s end, Hive Blockchain reported holding 1,116 BTC, worth $48.4 million, and 25,154 ETH, worth $74.7 million, on its balance sheet.

Publicly-Listed Miner Hive Plans to Transfer ETH Hashrate to Other GPU Mineable Coins Ahead of Merge

September 6, 2022 Bitcoin.com

12 Companies Keep Close to $700 Million in Ethereum in Treasuries

April 10, 2022 Bitcoin.com

HIVE Blockchain to expand mining operations with new Intel ASIC chips

March 8, 2022 Coin Telegraph

ASIC

The Bitcoin mining company is expanding to Texas with new custom-built 'greener' mining devices that will be powered by Intel Bonanza Mine chips.

Publicly traded crypto mining company HIVE Blockchain Technology has signed a deal to buy ASIC chips from semiconductor manufacturer Intel that will be used in their new custom mining devices.

HIVE has arranged for the new devices to be made by a third-party custom design manufacturer that will integrate the Intel chips into new air-cooled Bitcoin (BTC) mining devices.

HIVE expects that the new devices will nearly double its aggregate Bitcoin mining hash rate from 1.9 to 3.8 Exahashes per second (Eh/s). They will begin arriving ready for use starting in the second half of 2022.

Intel stated in its patent for the chips, called “Bonanza Mine,” that the chips would also reduce the power consumption of mining operations by 15%. The reduction in power usage may allow HIVE to employ more devices, helping it increase its hash rate contribution even more.

Aydin Kilic President and COO of HIVE suggested that the new devices would be important in the future growth of the company and its hash rate contributions to the network. He said that the company is committed to “implementing these next-generation blockchain accelerators in (HIVE’s) green energy infrastructure.” Executive Chairman of HIVE, Frank Holmes, added:

“Intel’s commitment to challenging the status quo and commitment to energy-efficient products aligns very well with our ESG and clean energy commitment.”

Currently, New York state and several countries around the world are considering banning Bitcoin mining in the name of preservation of the environment and the power supply. HIVE may be protected against such complaints regarding its new Texas location by using a facility powered by renewable energy owned by digital infrastructure firm Compute North.

HIVE currently has mining operations in Canada, Iceland, and Sweden where it mines BTC, Ethereum (ETH), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). The Texas operation will be it's first in the U.S.

Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips are customized for a particular use. In the case of Bitcoin mining, they are designed to perform complex mathematical equations in order to create new blocks on the chain.

Hive Blockchain on track to mine more Bitcoin, less Ether this quarter

December 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

The Canadian mining firm expected its Ether production to decrease by more than 20% quarter over quarter, while its Bitcoin mining would rise a modest 2%.

Publicly traded crypto mining firm Hive Blockchain is expecting to produce 6,900 Ether (ETH) and 670 Bitcoin (BTC) for the fiscal quarter ending on Dec. 31, marking a respective drop and increase over that of the previous quarter.

In a Wednesday notice to shareholders, Hive said it had mined 6,280 Ether from Oct. 1 to Dec. 21, and was on track to mine more than 65 ETH daily for the remainder of 2021. This projected total — 6,900 ETH — would represent a decrease of more than 20% from the 8,688 ETH the company mined from July 1 to Sept. 30. However, Hive is expecting its Bitcoin production to increase by 2% quarterly, from roughly 656 BTC to 670 BTC.

“This increase [in Bitcoin] has been driven by the previously announced investments that have been made into new generation miners and the expansion of our Bitcoin mining facilities,” reported Hive. “This drop in the production of Ether in the current quarter compared to the prior quarter will be offset partially by the average price of Ether increasing by 45%, and the higher Bitcoin mined in this quarter boosted by the increase in the price of Bitcoin in the quarter of over 35%.”

The Canadian crypto mining firm attributed the slowing of ETH mining due to the average difficulty increasing by more than 16% in the current quarter, including a peak on Dec. 7 as more projects entered the ecosystem. However, Hive also said the “strong” ETH price had helped the company support mining operations as the difficulty increased. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the price of ETH rose more than 50% since Sept. 30 to reach an all-time high of more than $4,800 in November.

"HIVE has a healthy coin inventory of both Ether and Bitcoin and has a continuing strategy to build our inventory through calendar 2022," said the mining firm. "We are no longer selling coins but banking them through the New Year."

Known by many for its efforts to mine with a focus on green energy, Hive has facilities in Canada, Sweden and Iceland. In June, the firm announced it had received approval to list shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange. At the time of publication, shares are trading for $2.87, having risen more than 2% in the last 24 hours.

Hive Blockchain Secures Order for 6,500 Next-Generation Bitcoin Miners From Canaan

October 30, 2021 Bitcoin.com

NASDAQ-Listed HIVE Blockchain to Expand Data Center in New Brunswick, Canada With 40 Megawatts Capacity

October 12, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Bitcoin Miner Hive Blockchain Heads to Nasdaq

June 18, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

HIVE Blockchain sells Norwegian data mining center, citing loss of government subsidies

May 10, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Executive chair Frank Holmes described the sale as “unfortunate” but approved of the community continuing to find uses for the property.

Crypto mining firm HIVE Blockchain Technologies has sold one of its data centers in the Norwegian municipality of Narvik held since 2018.

In an announcement today, HIVE said it had transferred all shares of the firm’s local subsidiary Kolos Norway AS to Narvik in addition to a $200,000 payment. The move came after the Norwegian Parliament approved a bill in November 2018 that would not provide relief to crypto miners on power consumption.

The mining firm said it was “no longer probable that [HIVE] will be able to meet the development conditions” given the legislation in effect since 2019. According to HIVE, the bill effectively reduced the valuation of land development rights from $15 million to zero.

HIVE executive chair Frank Holmes described the sale as “unfortunate” but approved of the community continuing to find uses for the property.

“This deal was made before myself or our CFO had assumed executive duties,” said Holmes. “We are pleased that our management team can now continue to focus on more immediate needs like upgrading our current facilities while expanding existing operations in Sweden, Iceland and Canada.”

A major Ether (ETH) miner, HIVE announced a two-phase expansion for its mining operations in Sweden by more than 20% in the first quarter of 2020. Last March, the firm acquired a new facility in Quebec for $2.8 million, reportedly doubling its global mining capacity at the time.

Hive Blockchain

Share this video