We are excited about the future prospects for the sector and continue to be focused on bringing greater institutionalisation and growth to the digital assets and blockchain technology ecosystem

Mike Edwards, executive chairman

What it does

Argo Blockchain Plc (LON:ARB) is listed on the main board of the LSE and focuses on the mining of cryptocurrency.

Crypto mining is the process of using powerful computers to solve complex mathematical equations and validate transactions on a decentralised ledger system known as a blockchain.

These transaction ‘blocks’, once they are completed, reward the miner with cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin for their efforts.

Argo uses large banks of computers to mine large amounts of cryptocurrency which can then be sold for fiat money.

How it's doing

In a trading update in January, Arog said it expects revenues for the year ended 31 December to be £.8.5mln, up from £760,000 in 2018.

For the fourth quarter of the year, Argo produced 432 Bitcoins from its crypto mining operation compared to 426 in the third quarter, however, revenues fell to £2.66mln from £3.63mln over the same period due to a decline in cryptocurrency prices and what the firm said was “increased mining difficulty” and unfavourable foreign exchange rates.

Softer Bitcoin prices were also blamed for a decline in Argo’s mining margin to 52% in the fourth quarter from 73% in the third, although the company said it believed this was still “one of the highest efficiency rates in the market”.

Inflexion points

• In early 2020, Argo said the expansion of its mining capacity is continuing ahead of schedule, with 6,375 new mining machines having been installed since the start of January, taking its total capacity to 13,364
• The company has appointed Peter Wall, one of its co-founders and current vice president of operations, as its new chief executive
• The company has increased the number of mining machines in operation to 7,000, with another 10,000 machines expected to be delivered in batches from December 2019 taking its total capacity to 17,000 machines by the end of the first quarter of 2020
• For its third quarter ended 30 September, Argo reported a 75% increase in revenues compared to the second quarter to £3.6mln
• The company signed a deal in mid-August to increase its electricity supply by 357%, which in turn would allow it to run 15,000 more mining machines, taking its Bitcoin mining capacity to 1,360 petahash and making it the world’s largest publicly listed crypto miner

What the boss says: CEO Peter Wall

"Thanks to a resilient performance in the last quarter, Argo delivered annual revenues of approximately £8.5m in 2019, our maiden operational year when we commenced mining at scale only in the second half."

"Our mining operations continued to generate industry-best mining margin in the last quarter despite a softening in market conditions from the previous quarter. Our state-of-the-art mining platform is performing as expected and with the expansion of our mining network on pace, along with the recent rise with the price of Bitcoin, Argo is well-placed for a strong year ahead."