Riot Platforms has reiterated that its strategy has evolved to focus on “maximizing the value of our megawatts,” rather than solely mining Bitcoin, despite achieving record revenues in the third quarter driven by a surge in Bitcoin production.
During a conference call following the release of the firm’s Q3 results on Wednesday, Riot Platforms’ vice president of investor relations, Josh Kane, indicated that while the firm is pleased with its Bitcoin mining initiatives, its broader objective is now centered on “monetizing megawatts.”
“As our strategy has evolved, so has our approach to our Bitcoin mining business. We no longer see Bitcoin mining operations as the end goal, but instead as a means to an end, and that end is maximizing the value of our megawatts,” he stated. He further elaborated, “Over time, this means transitioning the megawatts in our power portfolio for data center development. Ready-for-service power in the right locations is increasingly scarce and valuable, which in turn forms the basis for the enormous value creation opportunity ahead of us.”
According to the firm’s Q3 report, Riot posted a record quarterly revenue of $180.2 million, representing a 112.5% increase from Q3 2024. The company also reported a net income of $104.5 million, a significant improvement from a net loss of $154.4 million in the same period the previous year.
The firm also experienced a 27% year-over-year increase in Bitcoin (BTC) mining production, mining 1,406 BTC in Q3. This brought its total Bitcoin holdings to 19,287 BTC, valued at over $2.1 billion at current prices.
Notably, 90% of Riot’s Q3 revenue was generated from its Bitcoin mining ventures, underscoring the company's continued significant reliance on this area of operation.
Addressing this, Kane confirmed that Riot will continue to maximize the potential of Bitcoin mining, utilizing the generated funds to support its data center-focused expansion plans.
“We will continue to utilize the opportunity Bitcoin mining brings to secure power and drive strong cash flow that we will leverage to support the ongoing transformation of our overall business,” he commented.
Bitcoin Mining as a Supporting Venture
Riot began establishing the foundation for a diversification strategy at the start of the current year. This followed the firm's decision to pause further Bitcoin mining project development at Corsicana, instead actively seeking new opportunities for high-performance infrastructure specifically geared towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications.
In conjunction with the financial results, the company announced the commencement of the core and shell development for the initial two buildings at its Corsicana Data campus in Texas. These facilities are slated to provide a combined 112 megawatts of critical IT data center capacity.
Riot executives have outlined their vision to utilize all available land at the Corsicana site, ultimately transforming it into a “1 gigawatt utility-load data center campus.”
“It’s all under the lens of maximizing the value of all of the megawatts that we have, trying to leave no unutilized power while we aggressively build out the data center business. Eventually, we aim to have the entire site be a one-gigawatt utility-load data center campus,” stated CEO Jason Les.