Riot Platforms VP Calls Firm's Bitcoin Reserve 'Most Capital-Efficient Source Of Funding' For Its Data Center Business

Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) leveraged its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) holdings to finance its data center development, the company’s Executive Vice President Jason Chung said on Thursday.

RIOT Entirely Relying On Balance Sheet For CapEx Needs

During Riot’s first-quarter earnings call, Chung outlined the funding strategy for the data center business, emphasizing strong reliance on its existing balance sheet.

“During the quarter, we funded this CapEx through a disciplined sale of a portion of our Bitcoin holdings, the most capital-efficient source of funding currently available to us,” Chung said.

Chung added that Riot didn’t have to issue any common equity during the quarter.

RIOT is currently the seventh-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with a stash of 15,679 BTC, worth $1.209 billion at prevailing prices, down from 18,005 BTC reported in the previous quarter.

Riot Reports Mixed Results, Data Center Revenue For First Time

The firm reported first-quarter revenue of $167.20 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $130.79 million, while its first-quarter loss came in larger than expected.

Riot also generated data center revenue for the first time, reporting $33.2 million for the segment, and officially transitioning into “an active, revenue-generating data center operator.”

Earlier this year, Riot signed a 10-year lease with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), making them the company’s first major hyperscale tenant.

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $77,093.15, up 2.30% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Riot shares rose 0.70% in overnight trading after closing 7.88% higher at $17.24 during Thursday’s regular trading session.

The stock demonstrated strong short-, medium-, and long-term price trends, while earning a high Momentum rating from Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

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