February 15, 2023 — Bitcoin mining firm Iris Energy recently revealed that it will soon nearly triple its mining potential via the addition of over 40K mining rigs. The firm announced that it has acquired an additional 4.4 EH/s worth of Bitmain Antminer ASIC miners, sending its mining capacity up to 5.5 EH/s from a previous 2.0 EH/s.
Based on the new rig’s maximum hash rate of 100 TH/s, the acquisition adds an expected 44,000 BTC miners to its current inventory. Iris co-founder Daniel Roberts stated that the acquisition “is a significant milestone” for the firm, adding it’s been a “challenging period for both the industry and markets more generally.”
Iris Energy reported that the new equipment will be installed soon but did not state which locations will be receiving the new miners. The company currently runs three facilities in Canada and one in the U.S. state of Texas. The firm used $67 million USD of remaining prepayments to mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain to pay for the acquisition of the miners “without any additional cash outlay.”
Iris Energy held a 10 EH/s agreement with Bitmain which the firm now says has been “fully resolved, with no remaining commitments.” It reported that it continues to be debt free. The company reported that it’s also contemplating the possibility of selling surplus miners exceeding its 5.5 EH/s capacity in an effort to re-invest the funds.
In November 2022 the firm was compelled to disconnect miners that were used as collateral on a $107 million loan. Those units were reportedly producing “insufficient cash flow to service their respective debt financing obligations.”
Recently, cryptocurrency miners have been forced to deal with lower Bitcoin prices, higher hash rates, high mining difficulty levels, and elevated electricity costs. These less-than-ideal conditions have caused a number of publicly listed mining companies to sell nearly all of their mined Bitcoin in 2022. Data provided by blockchain research firm Messari shows that Iris Energy sold approximately 100% of the estimated 2,500 BTC that it mined throughout the year.
Hashrate Index analysis for the month of February reveals that publicly traded miners boosted their January production amid improved weather conditions and stable energy prices which helped to boost production. Iris Energy’s January production number was 172 BTC, up from the 123 BTC mined in December.