Argo Blockchain sold more BTC than it mined in June

UK-based cryptocurrency mining company – Argo Blockchain – mined 179 BTC last month. Due to the current market conditions and the loan agreement with Galaxy Digital, the company had to sell 637 BTC at an average price of around $24,500.

More sales than production

In September 2021, Argo Blockchain secured a $25 million bitcoin-backed loan from Galaxy Digital (an investment management firm led by Mike Novogratz). The financing was intended to fuel the company’s expansion plans in West Texas and meet cash flow requirements.

In its latest announcement, Argo Blockchain revealed that it had to sell 637 BTC in June to reduce its commitments to the deal. The average price of the sales was approximately $24,500. At the end of last month, the entity had an outstanding balance of $22 million under credit.

“Throughout 2022, the Company has sold a significant portion of its monthly bitcoin production, steadily reducing its exposure to its BTC-backed loan and strengthening its balance sheet. The Company is confident that it has sufficient liquidity to avoid any potential liquidation of the BTC-backed loan if bitcoin’s price continues to fall,” the update says.

Moving on to production, Argo Blockchain mined 179 BTC in June compared to 124 BTC in May. The better results are due to increased total hashrate capacity and greater efficiency at the Helios plant in Texas.

Currently, the organization has 1,953 BTC (of which 210 are BTC equivalents). Calculated at current prices, the savings equates to nearly $40 million.

June was a successful month for Argo’s total hashrate capacity, which increased to 2.2 EH/s. The firm managed to install S19J Pro machines that increased productivity, while another 20,000 units purchased from Bitmain are expected to arrive by October this year. Speaking about the update, Peter Wall – Argos’ CEO:

“Ongoing efforts to significantly scale up Argo’s mining operations are reflected in this month’s numbers and our increased hashrate…

We believe the company is well positioned to navigate the current market conditions and further increase efficiency. These numbers, along with our continued installations of the S19J Pro machines, put us in a solid position in terms of our mining capacity.”

Argo also borrowed funds from a NYDIG subsidiary

Earlier this year, the crypto mining firm took an additional $70 million loan from a subsidiary of New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). The funds were intended to increase the production capacity of Helios (the company’s flagship facility based in Dickens County, Texas).

“We are pleased to secure this additional non-dilutive funding that will enable us to continue to equip Phase 1 of our Helios site. NYDIG understands the financial demands of large bitcoin miners and we are pleased to continue to work with them to execute and deliver on the next phase of Argo’s growth,” Wall said at the time.