HIVE Blockchain may start mining new cryptoassets after the merger

Canadian cryptocurrency miner HIVE Blockchain announced its production numbers in August, saying it is mining 290.4 BTC and 3,010 ETH. The company’s corresponding BTC production was 518.8 BTC with an average hash rate of 3.70 Exahash.

HIVE Blockchain also recognized the potential of Ethereum’s upcoming “Merge”, promising to start mining various other GPU-minable coins once this process is complete.

HIVE’s performance in August

In a statement, the firm revealed that it had mined a record amount of bitcoin last month despite the latest difficulty increase of nearly 10%.

“In August, we produced an average of 16.7 Bitcoin equivalents per day, consisting of approximately 9.4 BTC per day and our Ethereum production of approximately 97 Ethereum per day. We are pleased to note that as of today, we are producing above 9 BTC, even with last week’s Bitcoin difficulty increase of almost 10%,” stated Frank Holmes – Executive Chairman of HIVE.

Bitcoin’s mining capacity was at an average hashrate of 2.07 Exahash, while Ethereum’s was 6.19 Terahash. Aydin Kilic – President and COO of HIVE – said the company strives for “operational excellence”, ensuring “ideal Bitcoin and Ethereum production numbers.”

Adding the latest production to the equation, the company had 3,258 BTC (around $61 million calculated at today’s prices) and 5,100 ETH (around $7.7 million) as of August 31, 2022.

The miner also touched on Ethereum’s upcoming transition from Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (known as “The Merge”). The company’s technical team is looking to optimize the hashrate economics of the 6.5 Terahash of ETH mining capacity and start producing various other GPU-minable coins.

Subsequently, the organization announced the appointment of Gabriel Ibghy as General Counsel, who will report to Executive Chairman Frank Holmes. The former joined HIVE in 2021 as director of legal affairs, while his promotion is expected to facilitate the company’s interaction with financial regulators.

Development through 2022

Earlier this year, the Canadian unit entered into an agreement with Intel to purchase new ASIC chips. The agreement was part of HIVE’s strategy to expand its presence in the US. Deliveries of the units, which were presented as “high-performance”, began in the second part of 2022 and will continue until the summer of 2023. Speaking on the matter, Kilic said that the initiative is in line with the firm’s green focus:

“HIVE is committed to implementing these next-generation blockchain accelerators into its green energy infrastructure. This Intel Supply Agreement combined with the ODM manufacturing agreement creates a path from chip manufacturing to an ASIC miner that sets us apart from our competitors.”