Texas paid bitcoin miner Riot $31.7 million to shut down during heat wave in August

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Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms raked in $31.7 million in energy credits from Texas power grid operator ERCOT in August.

Bitcoin's recovery this year from 2022's lows has boosted Riot's stock, which is up about 230% so far in 2023, closing Wednesday at $11.24. But it's still way down from its 2021 peak of $77.90.JPMorgan Chase

Ballooning energy prices have also helped to drag down profits for the sector, so companies have turned to alternative sources of income.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or, has a relatively simple and mutually beneficial relationship with bitcoin miners. The agency, through established"demand response" programs, pays miners to reduce their power so as not to overstress the grid when air conditioners need to run at full blast.

Instead, state lawmakers passed two mining-friendly bills expanding incentives and cutting red tape for the industry. Those went into effect on Sept. 1.The economic equation revolves around how much money the miners are losing by not being up and running. If the grid operators pay the miners a penny more than they would have made from mining in any given hour, then they'll gladly power down.

Marathon's Fred Thiel previously told CNBC that from his experience, the companies get curtailment requests less than 3% of the time in the course of a year, which he estimates comes to about five to ten hours a month. Even bitcoin miners that haven't cut a deal with ERCOT sometimes choose to power down at times of peak consumption when prices shoot higher.

 

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Riot Platforms says Texas energy strategy reduced production costs by $31MFinancial statistics for August show that Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms benefited significantly from its power agreements in Texas.
Source: Cointelegraph - 🏆 562. / 51 Read more »