Riot Platforms has reiterated that its strategy has evolved to focus on “maximizing the value of our megawatts,” rather than solely mining Bitcoin, despite reporting record revenues in Q3 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, highlighted that while the company remains committed to its Bitcoin mining initiatives, its broader focus is now 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,” Kane explained. He added, “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, marking a 112.5% increase from Q3 2024. The company also reported a net income of $104.5 million compared to a net loss of $154.4 million the previous year.
Bitcoin mining production saw a 27% year-over-year increase, with Riot mining 1,406 BTC in Q3. This takes its total Bitcoin holdings to 19,287 BTC, worth over $2.1 billion at current prices.
Notably, 90% of Riot’s Q3 revenue was generated from its Bitcoin mining operations, indicating the company’s continued significant reliance on digital gold. Commenting on this, Kane emphasized that Riot will keep maximizing its Bitcoin mining potential but will reinvest the profits to support its data center-focused growth 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 said.
### Will Bitcoin Mining Become a Side Hustle?
Riot began laying the groundwork for this diversification strategy earlier this year, after pausing further Bitcoin mining expansions at Corsicana. Instead, the company is focusing on new opportunities to deploy high-performance infrastructure geared toward artificial intelligence (AI).
Alongside the financial results, Riot announced the “initiation of the core and shell development” of the first two buildings on its Corsicana Data campus in Texas. These buildings will provide a combined 112 megawatts of critical IT data center capacity.
Looking ahead, Riot executives outlined their ambition to fully utilize every spare piece of land at Corsicana, 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,” noted CEO Jason Les.
Riot Platforms appears to be positioning itself at the intersection of energy utilization and data infrastructure, signaling a strategic pivot that leverages its existing resources to capitalize on growing data center and AI trends.
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