Bitcoin Miners Expand Holdings: Riot Platforms Finalizes Loan Deal for More BTC

As Bitcoin hits new highs, miners are buying more of the digital asset, hoping for future gains. On Monday, the leading cryptocurrency soared to an all-time price high of $106 and more than $2.1 trillion in market capitalization.

Amid the surge, Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms obtained new funds to buy more Bitcoins. The company closed a $594.4 million offering of 0.75% convertible senior notes due in 2030.

Targeting Institutional Investors

According to a company statement, Riot’s private offering targets qualified institutional buyers and includes $69.4 million worth of notes tied to an initial purchaser option. Net proceeds after costs amount to $579.2 million.

Riot has reportedly allocated most of the proceeds to purchasing more Bitcoins. The facility allows conversion into Riot’s common stock, which the firm said will give investors the flexibility to capitalize on the company's future growth.

With the additional proceeds from Riot’s upsized $594 million, 0.75% coupon convertible bond issue, the Company has acquired 667 BTC at an average price of $101,135 per BTC. As a result, Riot has increased its holdings to 17,429 BTC, currently valued at $1.8 billion based on the… pic.twitter.com/t68Uy8nbHU

“Riot Announces Proposed Private Offering of $500 Million of Convertible Senior Notes. ​Net proceeds from this offering are to be used primarily to acquire Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes,” Riot announced.

More Expansion

Purchasers were also granted an additional $75 million option in notes. Riot, already holding over 10,427 Bitcoins as of Q3, appears to be doubling down on its reserves as it aims to outpace competitors in the mining industry.

Riot's focus isn’t limited to Bitcoin alone. In August, the company expanded its stake in Bitfarms, a rival mining company, to over 18%. Riot purchased an additional 1 million shares for $2.28 million, increasing its total holdings to 85.3 million shares.

Interestingly, most Bitcoin miners reported a decline in production last month. But despite a 10% year-over-year decline in Riot’s production, the company expanded in other areas, including achieving a total deployed hash rate of 30.8EH/s.

Riot’s CEO Jason Les said: “Stability in our production is a reflection of the ongoing operational improvements we continue to make, as demonstrated by our operating hash rate increasing 13% month-over-month compared to a 5% increase in our hash rate capacity.”