Argo Blockchain PLC (LSE:ARB, OTCQX:ARBKF, NASDAQ:ARBK, ETR:0XP)’s monthly mining output more than halved in May, as the London-listed bitcoin miner reckoned with the recent bitcoin Halving event.
The Halving, which occurs every four years on the bitcoin ledger, slashes mining rewards by 50% as an anti-inflationary measure.
It is one of the cornerstones of bitcoin technology, but it also presents a problem for commercialised bitcoin mining organisations that see their revenues cut in half in an instant.
Halving also increases competitiveness between bitcoin miners, which can lead to an ‘arms race’ as they attempt to reinforce their processing power to gain a competitive edge.
Some miners have seized on the Halving opportunity to expand their offerings into artificial intelligence compute and data centre offerings.
Argo saw its revenues fall by 56% sequentially in May, though lower power prices contributed to a steady mining margin of 30%.
Argo shares dipped 4.4% when markets opened on Wednesday.