HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX-V:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE) executive chairman Frank Holmes joined Proactive to discuss the Bitcoin miner’s recent efficiency achievement of 6 exahash per second.
Looking ahead to 2025, Hive aims to reach 15 exahash per second with in six months, targeting 2% of the global Bitcoin network hash rate.
Proactive: Hello, you're watching Proactive. I'm joined by HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX-V:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE) executive chairman, Frank Holmes. Frank, very happy New Year to you. You've entered 2024 with a new milestone, achieving six exahashes per second, a 47% increase from December 2023. How did you do it?
Frank Holmes: Happy New Year and happy New Year to all of our shareholders at Hive! We hit that six exahash, and it involved a lot of work upgrading machines. The key was obtaining more efficient machines—those that consume less electricity to produce a Bitcoin. We’ve retired older machines that had been fully expensed and replaced them with new ones. This has improved both our energy efficiency and Bitcoin production.
Those were the Avalon machines you got from Canaan, right?
Correct. They’re much more energy efficient. Another important factor is the warmer weather in Sweden, which has helped us take advantage of our hedging mechanism. This year, we’ve managed to lock in electricity pricing under $0.02 per kilowatt-hour whenever prices dropped below that level. This ensures profitability even amidst Bitcoin price volatility.
So you've secured highly competitive energy pricing in Sweden. 2024 was a significant year for you, especially with the Bitcoin halving event. How did Hive navigate that?
Yes, 2024 was a big year, and I’m proud of the team. We operate across nine time zones and in five languages—Swedish, German, Danish, French, Spanish, and English. All these need to be translated for public filings while maintaining our efficiency. We’ve achieved significant revenue per employee, about $6 million, which is far ahead of other Bitcoin miners and even companies like Nvidia or Apple.
In 2025, you're targeting 15 exahashes per second. How will you achieve that?
Over the next six months, our goal is to reach 12 to 15 exahashes per second, which would represent approximately 2% of the global network based on current difficulty levels. That would be a significant milestone for us.
What else does 2025 hold in store for Hive?
We plan to stay healthy, continue deploying new machines, and grow our Bitcoin holdings on the balance sheet.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style