Riot Blockchain Announces March Production and Operations Updates

Riot shares production of 187 Bitcoin for March 2021, Q1 2021 production of 491 Bitcoin, and deployment of 2,400 S19 Pro Antminers

Castle Rock, CO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) ("Riot”, “Riot Blockchain” or the “Company"), one of the leading Nasdaq listed Bitcoin mining companies in the United States, announces an operations update that includes an unaudited Bitcoin (“BTC“) production and an unaudited BTC holdings update, through March 2021.

Production and Operations Updates

• In March 2021, Riot produced 187 BTC, an increase of 80% over its pre-halving March 2020 production of 104 BTC.
• In Q1 2021, the Company produced 491 BTC, an increase of 75% over its pre-halving Q1 2020 production of 281 BTC.
• As of March 31, 2021, Riot holds over 1,565 BTC on its balance sheet, all of which was produced by its mining operations.
• On April 6, 2021, the Company bolstered its management team, appointing Megan Brooks as Chief Operating Officer and welcoming Phil McPherson as Vice President, Capital Markets and Ryan Werner as Vice President, Finance.
• On April 8, 2021, Riot announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Whinstone US, Inc. (“Whinstone”), creating a US-based industry leader in Bitcoin mining. 

The Company plans to continue to provide monthly operational updates and unaudited production results through the end of 2021.  These updates are intended to keep shareholders informed of Riot’s substantial growth as it continues to deploy its expanding mining fleet.

New Miner Acquisitions

On April 7, 2021, Riot announced a large-scale contract for the purchase of 42,000 S19j Antminers for $138.5 million from Bitmain Technologies Limited (“Bitmain”).  This purchase represents a significant step forward in Riot’s strategic initiative to increase its Bitcoin mining hash rate, which is now estimated to reach approximately 5 exahash per second (EH/s) by the end of 2021, and 7.7 EH/s once fully deployed by the end of 2022.  This level of growth represents a 93% increase over the Company’s previously estimated committed hash rate capacity of 4.0 EH/s by October 2021.