Bitcoin Miner Riot Blockchain Rebrands
The Bitcoin miner formerly known as Riot Blockchain has rebranded Riot Platforms.
Riot Platforms said on a Tuesday (January 3) press release that the new name reflects the fact that it is diversifying its business while remaining powered by bitcoin.
Already active in bitcoin mining and data center hosting, the firm continues to expand and diversify its operations and aims to become a leading bitcoin-powered infrastructure platform, according to the press release.
“This is a significant milestone for Riot and comes as a result of our unique strategic position in the market,” Riot CEO Jason Read said in the release, adding that the company has recently expanded its bitcoin mining data center capacity by acquiring Whinstone US and enhanced its electrical component engineering and supply chain capabilities by acquiring ESS Metron.
“The scale and scope of our businesses continue to expand, and this rebranding better reflects our position as strategic allocators of capital to increase the scale of our bitcoin-focused operations,” Les said in the release.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the company had been a maker of diagnostic machines for the biotech industry called Bioptix before changing its name to Riot Blockchain in 2017 and becoming one of the largest bitcoin miners in the US
During 2022, when the price of bitcoin fell and several companies in the crypto space went bankrupt, the value of Riot Blockchain’s shares plunged by 85%, according to the report.
In April, at a time when the company’s shares were down 35%, and several other listed companies focusing on the crypto market was down as well, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that companies serving the market suffered more in the downturn than the market’s underlying commodity.
Analysts told the WSJ at the time that shares of crypto mining companies were down because they tend to be owned by individual investors who generally trade in and out of stocks more than institutional investors.
Riot said in its press release Tuesday that Riot and Whinstone US will brand together under Riot Platforms, Riot’s electrical equipment manufacturing business will continue to operate as ESS Metron and Riot’s common stock will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol RIOT.
In addition, Riot will continue to seek opportunities to expand across its business lines, according to the release.
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