Publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Riot Platforms just added a massive amount of the flagship crypto to its corporate treasury. In a new announcement, Riot says it used company-issued bonds to generate revenue to purchase 5,117 BTC at an average price of $99,669 per token. “With the net proceeds from Riot’s recent $525 million, […]
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The purchase came amid reports that the Bitcoin mining company was under pressure from activist investor Starboard Value.
Riot Platforms bought approximately $510 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) between Dec. 10 and 12, bringing the Bitcoin miner’s total BTC holdings to nearly $1.7 billion, according to a Dec. 13 regulatory filing.
The purchases coincide with reports that activist investor Starboard Value has taken a “significant position” in the Bitcoin miner.
On Dec. 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that Starboard urged Riot to repurpose some of its Bitcoin mining capacity to service artificial intelligence models. Buying BTC has shown itself to be another way for Bitcoin miners to win over investors.
The activist investor is said to be pushing Riot to optimize the use of its facilities the same way many of its colleagues already have.
Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a “significant position” in Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms, The Wall Street Journal said. The financial details were not reported, but the news gave Riot a boost in stock price.
According to the newspaper’s unnamed sources, Starboard Value has been urging Riot to repurpose some of its Bitcoin (BTC) mining capacity for hyperscalers — large data center users — which have grown drastically in number due to the artificial intelligence boom.
The newspaper had seen a statement by Riot confirming that talks had taken place between the parties. It quoted Riot as saying:
It comes as US Bitcoin miners have had to deal with delayed deliveries of Bitmain ASICs that have been stuck at US ports of entry for weeks.
Bitcoin mining hardware firm Bitmain says it has expanded its production line to the United States to improve supply chain efficiency, while trade tensions continue to escalate between China and the US.
“This strategic move aims to provide faster response times and more efficient services to the North American customers,” China-based Bitmain said in a Dec. 9 X post.
Bitmain is a crypto mining equipment manufacturer known for designing application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, with reports estimating it holds as much as a 90% marketshare of Bitcoin miners.
If it follows through with its proposal, Riot Platforms will join many of its colleagues in paying top prices for BTC.
Riot Platforms has proposed raising $500 million to buy more Bitcoin (BTC). The company may conduct a private bond issue for qualified institutional investors. Its decision comes as Bitcoin hovers around its all-time high and other industry heavyweights have made large acquisitions at top price.
Riot may offer senior convertible notes through private offering memorandums. Purchasers would have the option of buying $75 million more in notes within three days of their initial purchase. The offering will be subject to market conditions, it said, and no mention was made of interest payments.
The notes will be unsecured senior obligations with a Jan. 15, 2030, maturity date and will be redeemed or converted into Riot common stock at the company’s election. The conversion rate and other terms will be determined at the time of pricing the offering.
Tesla’s massive Bitcoin transfers initially sparked fears of a market dump, but Arkham's data suggests the assets are still under the firm's control.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla likely still owns its entire Bitcoin stash worth $780 million despite transferring all the funds to unidentified wallets on Oct. 15, according to a blockchain analytics firm.
“We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla,” Arkham Intelligence said in an Oct. 22 X post.
Tesla split the 11,509 Bitcoin between seven wallets holding between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC on Oct. 15, Arkham noted. Wallet addresses “1Fnhp” and “1LERL” received the largest batches worth $142.2 million and $128.1 million, respectively.
Cointelegraph spoke with Riot Platforms’ Pierre Rochard and Metaplanet’s Dylan LeClaire at the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 conference.
While some investors may see Bitcoin’s current prices as a peak for the asset, industry professionals say that the crypto asset will continue to surprise investors as more global wealth managers allocate funds to BTC.
In an interview with Cointelegraph managing editor Gareth Jenkinson, Pierre Rochard, the vice president of research at Riot Platforms, and Dylan LeClaire, the director of Bitcoin Strategy at Metaplanet, shared their thoughts on what lies ahead for Bitcoin (BTC).
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 conference, Rochard said there’s a misleading narrative that Bitcoin gains are in the past. The executive said that from a global wealth balance sheet perspective, Bitcoin adoption is “still less than 1%.” He explained:
Bitfarms’ board will see Andrés Finkielsztain step down, while Amy Freedman and a sixth member will join the board.
Bitcoin miners Bitfarms and Riot Platforms have reached a settlement that ends a months-long conflict over governance.
Andrés Finkielsztain will step down from Bitfarms’ board of directors as part of the settlement agreement. In addition, Amy Freedman will join the board, and Riot Platforms will withdraw its proposal for further board changes ahead of the upcoming special shareholder meeting.
According to a Sept. 23 announcement, the companies also agreed to a standstill arrangement lasting until 2026. Riot — which owns a substantial stake in Bitfarms — has agreed not to take any further hostile actions toward the company, including another takeover, increasing its stake above a certain threshold, or proposing changes to Bitfarms’ board.
Riot Platforms and Bitfarms have resolved their dispute following a settlement agreement detailed in a joint announcement on Sept. 23, 2024. The agreement, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), comes ahead of Bitfarms’ special shareholder meeting on Nov. 6, 2024. Riot Withdraws Bid to Restructure Bitfarms’ Board in Settlement Deal […]
Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms has responded to Riot Platforms’ allegedly misleading statements about a special meeting and potential acquisition. Bitfarms claimed that Riot refused to engage constructively and is attempting to buy Bitfarms at a discount for its own shareholders’ benefit. The board will review Riot’s proposal but shareholders do not need to take any […]