Riot Blockchain Shutters Crypto Exchange, Expands Mining Operation. The company has extended its operation with a new facility with a capacity of 4,000 S17 Antminers.

Riot Blockchain, a Nasdaq-listed crypto company, has decided to shutter its digital asset exchange in the United States, shifting all its focus towards its mining business.

In a press release published on Thursday, the Colorado-headquartered company revealed several strategic changes in its business.

Popular for being one of the handfuls of publicly listed blockchain companies, Riot dived into the digital asset exchange business in 2018 with the launch of RiotX Exchange.

However, now the company has re-evaluated its decision to run a crypto exchange in a competitive market due to factors like an evolving regulatory environment in the United States and cybersecurity threats on such platforms.

“In order to concentrate its focus on cryptocurrency mining, Riot has opted to sunset further development of Riot’s U.S.-based digital currency exchange,” the company stated. “Riot is considering opportunities to divest the limited assets associated with the RiotX in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders.”

Riot Blockchain Extension of its mining operation

The company also revealed that it has completed a full network upgrade at its Oklahoma City mining facility which has significantly increased its mining capacity and efficiency. The firm deployed its recently procured 4,000 S17 Bitmain miners to the new facility. With the latest addition, the firm is expecting to increase its hash rate by 240 percent.

“Going forward, Riot reinforces its confidence in bitcoin by focusing on bitcoin mining and pursuing opportunities more directly related to bitcoin mining,” Riot added.

Besides, the company also entered into a partnership with XMS Capital Partners to receive advice on its potential strategic transactions in Bitcoin mining-related operations.

Meanwhile, the stock price of Riot is down by over 5 percent in a day, trading at $1.42. The value of the company’s stocks, however, soared 16 percent since the beginning of this year.