Riot Blockchain earns millions in credits by cutting energy use during Texas heat wave

American Bitcoin mining firm Riot Blockchain earned an estimated US$9.5 million in power credits in July as it reduced energy consumption and mined fewer Bitcoins.

See related article: Bitcoin miners in Texas halt operations amid heat wave

Fast facts

• Riot produced 318 Bitcoins in July this year, about 28% less than July last year, thereby significantly reducing overall power costs, the company said in a statement.

• The US$9.5 million that Riot earned in power credits equates to about 439 Bitcoins, calculated based on the cryptocurrency’s July average price of US$21,634, Riot said.

• Last month, Riot sold 275 Bitcoins and generated net proceeds of approximately US$5.6 million.

• As of July 31, Riot held about 6,696 Bitcoins, all produced by self-mining operations, the company said.

• Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. are at risk of heat-related illness because of the heat wave, according to FOX Weather, while Bitcoin’s hashrate in July slumped to the lowest since February as temperatures in Texas exceeded 100 degrees.

• The level of computing power used per second for mining, otherwise known as the mining hashrate, is linked to adjustments in crypto mining difficulty.

See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty records largest fall in a year