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May 26 , 2021 RIOT Riot Blockchain Completes Acquisition of Whinstone US , Creating Leading North American Bitcoin Mining Company US - based Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain has closed its acquisition of Whinstone US , the owner and operator of North America's largest Bitcoin mining and hosting facility Castle Rock , CO 80104 , May 26 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Riot Blockchain , Inc. ( NASDAQ : RIOT ) ( " Riot " , " Riot Blockchain " or the " Company " ) today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Whinstone US ( " Whinstone " ) from Northern Data ( XETRA : NB2 ) . The total consideration paid in the transaction was 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock and $ 80 million in cash , funded with cash on the balance sheet . " The successful acquisition of Whinstone marks the most significant milestone in Riot's history , and firmly establishes the Company as a leading Bitcoin mining platform , " said Jason Les , CEO of Riot . " With Whinstone's preeminent infrastructure and best - in - class construction , development , and operations organization , Riot is extremely well - positioned to increase the scale and scope of its operations . We welcome the talented Whinstone employees to the Riot family , and I look forward to leading our combined team as we jointly execute upon the Company's mission to become one of the most relevant and significant companies supporting the Bitcoin network and greater Bitcoin ecosystem . " " We are incredibly proud of the Whinstone team and sincerely appreciative of the Rockdale community that has supported us since we first broke ground in early 2020 , " said Chad Harris , CEO of Whinstone . " We look forward to partnering with the Riot team to advance our pursuit of creating America's leading Bitcoin mining company . " Riot plans to immediately commence further development of additional facilities at Whinstone in order to rapidly bring the property to its current capacity of 750 MW . With this capacity expansion , the Company's intention is to send its future committed miner order deliveries to Whinstone , which will allow Riot to capture significant synergies , including lower direct energy costs and operational costs . Commencing in early 2020 , the Whinstone team has successfully built the largest Bitcoin hosting facility in North America , as measured by developed capacity . Whinstone's comprehensive energy management strategy delivers best - in - class net energy costs of approximately 2.5 cents per kWh utilizing cutting - edge technology and comprehensive analytics to deliver industry - leading low cost , reliable and responsive power .