Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain has rebranded as Riot Platforms, i a move meant to reflect the company’s “increasingly diversified business operations”.
Riot, which has seen its market capitalization collapse by over 85% in the last year, is still the world’s most valuable listed company Bitcoin mining firm, well ahead of its nearest rival Marathon Digital Holdings by valuation.
In recent years, Riot has engaged in a significant number of acquisitions, some of which could potentially support a transition towards a more diversified business model.
In December 2021, Riot acquired ESS Metrona Denver-based electrical component engineering firm that caters to the power and water industries, in a deal worth approximately $50 million of Riot’s common stock and $25 million in cash.
The company also acquired Whinstone US, the owner and operator of North America’s largest Bitcoin mining and hosting facility, in May 2021, with the deal estimated to be worth around $651 million.
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Riot’s common stock will continue to be listed for trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the existing ticker symbol RIOT.
This is not the first time mining companies have shifted away from a blockchain focus in branding.
As far back as August 2022 crypto miner Applied Blockchain (APLD) announced its rebranding to Applied Digitalas it looked to dedicate some of its computing power to other high-performance computing applications beyond mining.
It’s understandable why some Bitcoin mining firms want to pivot away from their focus on mining, as the sector struggles in the face of the ongoing crypto winter and rising energy prices. ONE number of well-known firms in the industry have either declared bankruptcy or are in the midst of extensive restructuring plans to avoid it.
At the end of December Core Scientific, which was once one of the industry’s largest Bitcoin miners, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas.
That same month, Bitcoin miner Greenidge announced that there was “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, and said the board was actively discussing the possibility of voluntary bankruptcy amid complex debt cancellation plans.
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