Riot Blockchain sees 2022 as year of consolidation in Bitcoin mining sector

The Colorado-based miner beat analysts' estimates for 2021 sales due to a higher company hashrate and bitcoin price.

One of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, Riot Blockchain (RIOT) sees this year as the “year of consolidation in the Bitcoin mining industry" and expects the company to potentially benefit from such a trend.

• The miner said its "continuously evaluating strategic opportunities" which it may decide to undertake as part of its strategic growth initiatives, company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Tuesday.

• The miner reported 2021 revenue of $213.2 million, which is up 1,665% from 2020 and beat average analyst estimates of $211.06 million, according to FactSet data.

• A rise in the company's hashrate and bitcoin price helped the company's revenue in 2021, the miner said.

• The company reported a net loss of $7.9 million in 2021, versus a net loss of $12.7 million in 2020. The net loss for the fiscal year 2021 was significantly impacted by non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $68.5 million and a non-cash, unrealized loss of $36.5 million on impairment of cryptocurrencies, according to a statement.

• Riot also increased the bitcoin held on the balance sheet by 353% in 2021, compared to 1,078 in 2020. On March 3, the miner said it held about 5,783 self-mined bitcoins as of end of February.

• Furthermore, the miner re-iterated its expectations of reaching a 2022 hashrate of 12.8 exahash per second (EH/s). By comparison, its peer Marathon Digital said it expects to reach a hashrate of 23.3 EH/s by early 2023.

• Riot shares rose slightly in post-market trading, while bitcoin hovered above $40,000, according to TradingView data.