Riot Blockchain Plans Sale of Crypto Exchange as It Invests More Millions in Bitcoin Mining

Nasdaq-listed Riot Blockchain plans to sell its cryptocurrency exchange RiotX while doubling down on its bitcoin mining businesses.

"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 said in a statement.

Riot has hired Chicago-based investment bank XMS Capital Partners to advise on potential strategic deals and the search for new growth opportunities.

The announcement came on the heels of Colorado-based Riot's mining expansion in Oklahoma City.

Riot installed an additional 1,060 Antminer S17 Pro devices from Bitmain on Feb. 11.Previously, the company deployed 3,000 of the same AntmMiner model in January, having announced in December it would purchase 4,000 of the mining machines from Bitmain for $6.35 million.

While it dedicates hashing power to a variety of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, bitcoin cash and litecoin, Riot will sharpen its focus on bitcoin mining in the future, the company said.

Riot's stock was trading at $1.42, down 5.33 percent, as of market closing time on Feb. 20 after announcing the increased focus on bitcoin mining, according to data from Yahoo Finance.

Riot was originally a biotechnology company and it pivoted to blockchain in October 2017.

The company changed its name from Bioptix to Riot Blockchain.

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