Seeking Alpha • Jan 13

HIVE Digital Looks Cheap Now, But Bitcoin Cyclicality Still Dominates

Summary HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. operates a dual model with Bitcoin mining and BUZZ HPC/AI, which is the intended next growth engine. HIVE’s hydro expansion rapidly lifted its hashrate and mining output, and management targets another 100 MW at Yguazú by Q3 2026. I also think the stock has a compelling ESG angle with its hydropower and heat reuse. Its Grand Falls facility will potentially scale to 25,000+ GPUs. So, after a steep drawdown, I argue HIVE’s valuation looks quite cheap relative to its peers and mining ramp-up ambitions. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Mar 28

HIVE Digital: Continue To Avoid

Summary HIVE's pivot to AI has been underwhelming, with minimal revenue and an inability to compete with giants like Amazon and Microsoft. Management's expectations for the Yguazú facility in Paraguay are overly optimistic; HIVE's projected 3% network hashrate is unlikely due to rising competition. HIVE's perpetual share dilution and volatile stock price make it unattractive for long-term investors, despite potential short-term gains from Bitcoin price spikes. I recommend avoiding HIVE for long-term investments, as Bitcoin mining remains inconsistent and unprofitable, with HIVE's core business valued as essentially worthless. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Oct 19

HIVE Blockchain Set To Deanchor From Historical Best-In-Class Operating Efficiency

Summary HIVE's Q1 and Q2 performance show deteriorating operating efficiency and is made worse by the 80% decline in altcoin GPU mining revenue. HIVE's operating cost and depreciation increased by as high as 4x and 3x respectively since 2021Q4 while revenue is expected to decline by at least 32%. HIVE's expected all-in business cost per BTC ($65,000) is now ~2x higher all-in business cost per BTC than the industry average. We couldn't find a sufficient investment value proposition for HIVE due to mining inefficiencies, excessive risk of mining altcoins, and the premium on trading above adjusted book value. Introduction We've covered HIVE Blockchain's (HIVE) pivot after Ethereum's (ETH-USD) transition to Proof-of-Stake ('PoS') and showed that the impact of PoS ETH is only expected to decrease HIVE's top line by 13% under several assumptions. One of the assumptions has been violated while HIVE's September production update helped fill in the knowledge gap for more accurate expectations. Prior to the transition, we had only good things to say about HIVE, which include: Lower ESG compliance risk (powered by 100% renewable energy) Growing Bitcoin (BTC-USD) reserves. Acceptable margin of safety in terms of price too hard assets excess of total liabilities ratio Significantly lower all-in business cost per BTC by sector standards. We noted that there was a catch to these findings, which is the late release of HIVE's CY2022Q1 report. It turns out, we were right to exercise caution. Therefore, this article aims to realign HIVE's future performance expectations by consolidating CYQ1/Q2 performances in conjunction with our initial analysis and Hut 8's (HUT) latest guidance. De-anchoring from historical averages Prior to 2022Q1, HIVE's all-in business cost per Bitcoin was anchored near the $20,000 level while operating cost (excluding depreciation) was anchored at around $5,000. This gave us high confidence that there is no material risk of HIVE halting operations and no indications of decreasing retention of mined Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, HIVE reported nearly 3x higher all-in business costs per BTC in CY2022Q1. Contributors to the increase in costs include a 4x increase in operating & maintenance costs, over 2x increase in depreciation, and a 50% increase in general & administrative costs. More importantly, these cost increases are expected to be sticky. Table 1. HIVE's Historical Expenses QR((CY)) Total Business Cost Operating and Maintenance ($mil) Depreciation ($mil) General and Admin ($mil) Share-based comps ($mil) Financials ($mil) 2022Q2 48.3 17.2 25.7 3.4 1 1 2022Q1 68.72 26.91 35.5 4.3 1.28 0.73 2021Q4 27.4 6.526 15 2.862 1.672 1.338 2021Q3 22 7.6 9.6 2.63 1.48 0.305 2021Q2 18 6.2 6.9 2.3 2.3 0.3 Indications of higher renewable energy cost HIVE explained that the 4x increase in operating cost was mainly due to seasonally high electricity costs in some jurisdictions. Seasonal implies this won't be a one-off expense and will occur again. More importantly, this also confirms the downside of only limiting power sources to only renewable energy, more so if it's only curtailed energy just like Soluna (SLNH). Another instance is HUT, which is also operating solely on renewable energy. HUT reported a 50% operating cost increase in 2022Q2 also mainly contributed by higher energy costs. However, according to the Canadian Energy Price Index, energy prices remained stable in Q1 and Q2 while there was even a 12% decline in Q2. Hence, it doesn't make sense for HUT, which operates solely in Canada, to suffer an increase in electricity costs. Our hypothesis is there is a difference in price between the general electricity cost and renewable energy cost. The cost of Renewable energy is a function of demand and curtailment. The less curtailment, the more expensive the energy becomes (Fig 1). This is supported by HIVE's own statements: HIVE has encountered some seasonal high electricity prices in some of its operating jurisdictions (including electrical curtailment at the request of utility providers for load-balancing). Fig 1. Curtailment vs Spot Price (CAISO) Although there is a 37% QoQ decrease in CY2022Q2 operating cost, it is still 3x higher than CY2021Q4, CY2021Q3, and CY2021Q2 figures. It is inevitable for HIVE to demand more energy as it aims to triple its mining capacity from ~2 EH/s to ~ 6 EH/s. Therefore, the lesser renewable energy is curtailed, the higher the cost. Based on this hypothesis, HIVE's Q3 operating cost is expected to remain elevated and this will de-anchor HIVE's best-in-class operating efficiency historical averages. Depreciation outpaces capacity growth According to Table 1, depreciation accounts for more than half of HIVE's business costs. But more importantly, HIVE's depreciation expenses outpaced its mining capacity growth. It is only logical for depreciation to increase as HIVE grows in capacity. More machines = more capacity = more depreciation. In HIVE's case, depreciation expenses increased 4x between CY2022Q1 and CY2021Q4 and 3x between CY2022Q2 and CY2021Q4. However, equipment value only increased by 65% and 60% during the periods respectively. Some might wonder whether the velocity of depreciation is due to equipment obsolescence. To a certain extent, yes, but not accurate. This depreciation coincides with the rapid decline in GPU prices. GPU prices have fallen as much as 90% of their MSRP because of newer GPUs and demand slowdown caused by recession risk and Ethereum's transition to PoS. Since our latest valuation model evaluates a crypto mining company's market cap net of liquid assets, PP&E and liability, HIVE's current depreciation rate will adversely affect its intrinsic value. Impact of PoS ETH on Cost Efficiency Cost efficiency is defined as the dollar amount of cryptocurrencies mined (production) over the dollar amount in cost. Therefore, the decline in production will also decrease cost efficiency. We previously estimated a 30% decline in altcoin GPU mining revenue or a 13% decline in all-in revenue if HIVE pivots to Ethereum Classic (ETC-USD) assuming running at full capacity and no increase in mining difficulty. This expectation is now obsolete because one of the assumptions was violated. ETC's mining difficulty increased >3x since our previous coverage in August.

Seeking Alpha • Oct 05

HIVE Blockchain: Why The Way Forward Is Promising

Summary HIVE Blockchain, barring a Black Swan event that extends the Federal Reserve's planned interest rate hikes, is positioned well to endure the current economic challenges. After the Ethereum "Merge" the question of how much of that will be offset by other altcoins the company plans on mining has yet to be answered. The price of Bitcoin has been and will remain the key driver of the share price of HIVE. How the macro-economic environment will affect HIVE over the next several months. There has been a lot of concern among some investors concerning what effect "The Merge" will have on the performance of HIVE Blockchain (HIVE), since it had significant exposure to Ethereum (ETH-USD). The company has stated it's going to transition its former Ethereum miners to other altcoins in order to make generate revenue to help replace revenue from Ethereum. An important question that must be answered is how quickly and to what extent that strategy will boost revenue. That said, I'm on record as saying for some time that the price movement of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has been the major driver of the share price of HIVE and will remain so in the future. In this article we'll look at the time frame I think HIVE faces before the price of Bitcoin enters into a sustainable recovery that will significantly boost the share price of the company, as well as how it's positioned to endure the current economic weakness that continues to weigh on the performance of the firm. A quick look at "The Merge" There has been quite a bit of commentary concerning the impact "The Merge" will have on HIVE as Ethereum went from proof of work to proof of stake, resulting in a void for the miners it was using to produce Ethereum. To get an idea of the impact, in August the company produced 16.7 Bitcoin equivalent per day, with Bitcoin accounting for 9.4 of that, which means Ethereum made up the remaining 7.3 BTC Equivalent a day. When including the decline in the price of Bitcoin and the loss of Ethereum production, that's not an insignificant amount of revenue the company has lost. One thing the company is doing to offset some of that is to increase its Exahash rate from 2.23 in August to 3.5 Exahash by Q1 2023. That will result in more Bitcoin production, and, if the price has started to sustainably rebound by then, which I think it well, the company is going to be in a much stronger position than it is today. If that's how it plays out, momentum in relationship to revenue growth will return. Also, by that time we should be getting the first look at the company's strategy for mining altcoins is, and how it will impact the top and bottom lines going forward. I don't see that as having any meaningful impact in the near term, but when combined with the rebound in the price of Bitcoin, it could be a solid catalyst in the future. Balance sheet At the end of June 2022, HIVE had $4.0 million cash on hand, with digital currencies valued at $71.4 million. Liabilities at the time were $29.2 million. As of the end of August 2022, HIVE had a HODL balance of 3,258 Bitcoin, up from the 3,091 it had at the end of July 2022. In early September 2022, HIVE announced it had entered into a $100 million at-the-market offering agreement with H.C. Wainwright. Per terms of the agreement, H.C. Wainwright "may from time to time sell shares of the company of up to $100M." The primary purpose of the proceeds will be to use it to expand its blockchain mining operations. It should also provide a financial cushion if the company needs it, in the event the price of Bitcoin remains subdued longer than expected. Company report Macro-economic environment As with all of its mining peers, the near-term performance of HIVE will directly correlate with macro-economic conditions that have triggered the Federal Reserve into boosting interest rates in order to lower inflation. For that reason, the next couple of CPI readings will give a lot of clarity concerning how this will play out for HIVE. If inflation starts to pull back, there is no doubt it will improve market sentiment, which will in turn attract more capital into high-growth stocks like HIVE. And if inflation pulls back for two or more readings in a row, it will accelerate the process, bringing money back into Bitcoin, in turn driving the price up, pushing the share price of HIVE up as well. At that time, the inflow of capital into higher risk assets will increase, rewarding high-growth stocks. I believe this is likely to happen by the end of calendar 2022, and by latest, by early 2023. If that's how it plays out, HIVE will return to its past growth trajectory, and its share price should move up in a big way.

Seeking Alpha • Sep 01

HIVE Blockchain: Market Mispricing Ethereum Merge

Summary Though it fluctuates with the relative prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum, about a third of HIVE's mining revenues in June came from Ethereum. HIVE's Ethereum mining equipment cannot be transitioned to another equally as profitable business segment. And the relatively large Ethereum revenue stream cannot be easily replaced. From a market cap to hash rate perspective, HIVE shares do not appear to be pricing in The Merge. HIVE's adjusted costs and expenses, excluding depreciation, share-based compensation, interest expense, impairments, and foreign exchange losses are about $15,000 per coin. After years of delays, the Ethereum (ETH-USD) platform appears set in the coming weeks to shift from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism for verifying and tracking transactions, to a proof-of-stake consensus. Follow-up over the last couple of weeks of a practice merge on the Goerli testnet showed it was successful and a sufficient final test to now move to The Merge on the mainnet. The first step will begin on September 6th, with the final transition estimated for September 15th. This switch will mark a seminal moment for the crypto space because of the history, size, and complexity of the platform. The Merge will be a catalyst for change across the industry. For the highly profitable Ethereum miners, the shift will be the end of an era as their computational computer equipment will no longer be used to secure the network. Under the new proof-of-stake consensus, more simple computer nodes "holding" substantial amounts of ETH are trusted and rewarded for validating and securing the platform. Chief among the large, NASDAQ listed crypto miners with a sizeable Ethereum business is HIVE Blockchain (HIVE). Though it fluctuates with the relative prices of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum, about a third of HIVE's mining revenues in June came from Ethereum. For comparison, about 10% of Hut 8's (HUT) mining revenues are Ethereum based. Also important to note, since 2021 Ethereum mining has generally had a higher margin than Bitcoin mining. This has given Ethereum miners one advantage in cost comparisons to Bitcoin-only miners. Lastly for reference, over the past year HIVE has had about three-quarters of a percent of the total Ethereum hash rate, a sizable share. So HIVE is particularly dependent on Ethereum mining. However the specific equipment used cannot be transitioned to another equally as profitable mining opportunity or business segment. And the relatively large revenue stream cannot be easily replaced, affecting HIVE's earnings outlook. A section below considers the details of some of the options HIVE and Ethereum miners have for their GPU equipment and power sources. While estimates do vary, from my perspective a majority of the Ethereum revenues and earnings will not be replaced in the coming quarters. However before this outlook and path forward discussion, it is necessary to show that this coming disruption to revenues and earnings has not been priced into the shares. First and foremost, HIVE is not relatively cheap from the commonly used metric of market cap to hash rate. This is especially true as HIVE's hash rate will take the largest hit among the larger-cap, western miners following a successful merge on the Ethereum platform. Consider the following slide from HIVE's Q1 F2023 Results Webcast. Note the internal data graphic is from Anthony Power with Compass Mining. www.hiveblockchain.com/investors/presentation/ The main point of the slide shows that HIVE has the highest production relative to its operational hash rate, as seen in the "Bitcoin mined per 1 EH/s" metric. This metric is a good measure of efficiency and uptime. However for the current discussion, focus on the "July 31, 2022 Total HR PH/s", "MCAP $M", and "Cost per current PH/s" metrics. These metrics form a market cap to production capacity comparison that is the starting point for relative valuations of the crypto miners. Of course, there are other meaningful valuation factors at play such as balance sheet strength and hash rate growth trajectory. Bear those considerations in mind, but set them aside for the moment. With a few exceptions in the table above, one can divide the MCAP by the July Hash Rate to get the "cost" per PH/s. So importantly, this cost is not related to an operational cost, but rather the cost a shareholder theoretically pays per unit of production. At $137,663 per PH/s, HIVE falls somewhat in the middle. First lets quickly go over the exceptions in the calculations above. The cost per PH/s for Marathon Digital (MARA) uses its installed capacity rather than July Hash Rate as the company experienced major disruptions at their two largest facilities in July. The Iris Energy (IREN) calculation has also been adjusted, though I am not familiar enough with their operations to explain. Lastly and most importantly, for fairness HIVE's calculation has been adjusted to include its Ethereum production. Often for ease of use, the differently denominated Ethereum production figures are converted to a Bitcoin equivalent. In July for HIVE, Ethereum mining represented about 1550 PH/s of Bitcoin equivalent hash rate and 40% of the total. So rather than using the 2260 PH/s of Bitcoin production capacity in July, the total Bitcoin equivalent hash rate of 3770 PH/s was used in the calculation above. Put more plainly, the $519,000,000 market cap was divided by 3770 PH/S to get the cost per PH/s of $137,663. The upshot, assuming HIVE's Ethereum mining ends in September, is that HIVE's stock looks substantially more expensive from a market cap to hash rate perspective. Assuming the extreme, with no replacement hash rate source, the cost per PH/s goes to about $230,000 (more on replacement options below). In any case, from a market cap to hash rate perspective, HIVE shares do not appear to be pricing in The Merge. As they are Canada based, have similarly size power supplies, hash rates and market caps, HIVE is often compared to Hut 8 and Bitfarms (BITF). Note Bitfarms has no Ethereum mining while Hut 8 has about 10% of its revenues from Ethereum. Comparative Hash Rates and Power Supplies (www.hiveblockchain.com/investors/presentation/) The graph directly below shows the price movements in the three companies since early July when the successful merger on the Sepolia testnet brought more heightened certainty to a near term merge on Ethereum's mainnet. There was no discernible downward reaction in the relative pricing of HIVE. HIVE data by YCharts The graphic below shows the price movements since last year's successful London hard fork on the Ethereum platform. The London hard fork was an important point on the path to transitioning to a proof-of-stake. And here there is no discernible, growing divergence in valuations during the intervening period of increasing expectations of The Merge. HIVE data by YCharts For consideration below, the normalized price change compared to Bitcoin-only miners Riot Blockchain (RIOT) and Marathon Digital over the past year are included. Note the continued, close correlation between HIVE and Marathon Digital. HIVE data by YCharts So in general, as seen in the market cap to hash rate comparisons above, HIVE seems priced to include its Ethereum production. And when compared to the Bitcoin-only miners, the price over time has not reflected a substantial change from the advancement of plans to transition Ethereum to proof-of-stake. Taking the two lines of thought together, The Merge effects on HIVE do not appear adequately anticipated by the market. Replacement Hash Rate and Revenue Streams As a general rule, the equipment used to mine Ethereum is different than that for Bitcoin. Ethereum is mined by graphics cards (GPUs) while Bitcoin is mined with application-specific integrated circuits [ASIC]. Before moving to the plans for HIVE's GPUs if The Merge occurs on schedule, a quick disclaimer is needed. HIVE has conducted GPU-based mining since 2017 and nothing in the following discussion is a disparagement of the ROI of their prior GPU investments. Ethereum mining has been highly profitable for HIVE and a core reason for their past success. HIVE's GPUs consist of two types of cards. There are a number of options and a number of moving variables affecting the first type, which are mostly older Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) cards. Without getting too far into the hash rate, difficulty and rewards structure discussion, these cards will likely be reassigned to other GPU minable coins, especially Ethereum Classic (ETC-USD). From my layman's knowledge and opinion, it would be optimistic to assume a quarter of these cards' prior revenues could be replaced, and at only a marginal profitability level. At the end of last year HIVE acquired data center grade cards from Nvidia (NVDA). These cards have additional applications in high-performance computing. HIVE is building a new business segment and plans revenue streams from providing services like AI, rendering and molecular modelling. Note that Hut 8 has similarly diversified their business. But uncertainty remains as to the execution, timing, size and margins of this segment's revenues. And a key difference to keep in mind between crypto mining and a data center business is that customer experience components add complexity. HIVE Valuation Above I argued that HIVE currently has an average production capacity relative to its market cap, but that following The Merge it will be among the more expensive miners from that perspective. Looking further, it is difficult in general to assign a valuation to the digital asset miners in the current near break-even environment, especially using an earnings stream method. Also, because of the volatility of Bitcoin, retrospective looks do not adequately capture the current or go-forward outlook. Despite these limitations, consider the following valuation metrics for HIVE: seekingalpha.com HIVE's Factor Grades above are relative to the information technology sector. EV Calculation seekingalpha.com Note HIVE's low net debt level. For reference it is similar to Hut 8's and Bitfarms', but contrasts with Marathon Digital's and Core Scientific's (CORZ) meaningfully higher levels. Of course, both Marathon Digital and Core Scientific have substantially larger fleets and faster planned growth trajectories. Not included in the "Cash" entry above are digital currencies valued at $71.4 million at quarter end. For a comparison of digital assets held by the miners, HIVE provided the following graphic in their Q1 F2023 Results Webcast (link above). Note the final column. Again HIVE falls toward the middle and importantly, these assets are relatively large compared to the current market cap. www.hiveblockchain.com/investors/presentation/ Moving to the EBITDA side of the discussion, HIVE's adjusted EBITDA is dependent on the underlying price of Bitcoin, the production cost per coin and their general expenses. Before covering these, it is useful to quickly note how HIVE is calculating its adjusted EBITDA in the MDA document. They are adjusting for items such as the revaluation of digital currencies and impairments on equipment, but they are not adjusting for non-cash changes in the value of specific investments, like with Valor Inc. Appropriately, the company also does not correct for foreign exchange gains or losses in its adjusted EBITDA, though in the following discussion this is excluded.

Seeking Alpha • Aug 24

HIVE Blockchain: Navigating 'The Merge'

Summary The long-awaited Ethereum merge has a target date. And it's fast approaching. Almost 40% of HIVE's mining production comes from Ethereum mining. Ethereum changing from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake eliminates that revenue source. HIVE's post-merge strategy is a shift to other GPU mineable coins and computing services. HIVE's crypto-specific options for the GPUs are very limited. One of the biggest narrative trades in crypto since the market stopped going down in mid-June has been the renewed optimism in a merge of Ethereum's (ETH-USD) proof of work mainnet and proof of stake Beacon Chain; now scheduled for mid-September. But a slightly underappreciated component of moving from proof of work to proof of stake consensus is the miners who were previously securing the PoW network no longer have the same incentive in a PoS model because the transaction validation mechanism is completely different. For Ethereum miners, this is particularly problematic because ETH mining is still done with GPUs rather than with the ASIC machines required by most other PoW networks. Ethereum miners can't simply switch to securing Bitcoin (BTC-USD) because their machines aren't capable of profitably mining it. Some of the ETH miners are now upset about the change to a PoS model, and there is a proposed fork of Ethereum that is reportedly picking up a little bit of steam. According to Decrypt: Ever since a prominent Chinese Ethereum miner announced his intention to resist the upcoming Ethereum merge and create a new, parallel network and cryptocurrency, the idea has begun to gain some traction. This effort is led by ETH miner Chandler Guo and has support from Tron (TRX-USD) founder Justin Sun. Sun also owns the Poloniex exchange and has said the exchange will support the hard fork called EthereumPoW (ETHW-USD). I'm going to flat out say that I don't think ETHW is going anywhere. The Ethereum community broadly isn't supportive of the hard fork and Circle has already said it won't support USDC that lives on a forked PoW Ethereum chain. I've been sharing my thoughts about ETHW with BlockChain Reaction subscribers, and you can join the service with a free two-week trial to get access to that deeper rationale. For this article, though, there are two questions HIVE Blockchain (HIVE) investors should consider going forward: What is the post-ETH merge revenue impact on HIVE? What are the viable alternatives for HIVE's GPU machines? Impact on HIVE Blockchain With ETHW looking more like a stunt than a viable option for displaced GPU miners, the logical question is what will be done with those machines. This is of significant importance to HIVE Blockchain specifically because a large portion of the company's mining revenue has historically come from mining Ethereum. In HIVE's monthly production updates, the company refers to the ETH that it mines as "BTC Equivalent." Mining Production BTC BTC Equivalent ETH % of Total January 264 161 37.9% February 244.4 132.6 35.2% March 278.6 168.8 37.7% April 268.8 189.5 41.3% May 273.4 185.8 40.5% June 278.5 142.3 33.8% July 279.9 185.2 39.8% Source: HIVE Blockchain The year-to-date monthly average for HIVE is 38% of the company's mining production coming from Ethereum. That's a large portion of HIVE's mining revenue that is scheduled to disappear in mid-September and short of selling the GPU machines, it appears the best-case scenario regarding revenue from alternatives is going to be source fragmentation. HIVE's Post-Merge Strategy During the July production update, HIVE elaborated on its strategy for GPU machines following a theoretical successful merge of Ethereum to proof of stake: HIVE's GPU fleet is comprised of two types of cards, our legacy fleet comprised mostly of RX580s, and can be repurposed for other GPU mineable coins. The second type being our data center grade cards, namely our Nvidia fleet which we announced last year when we joined the Nvidia Partner Network; these cards have other applications in high-performance computing ((HPC)) applications. HIVE has been developing a new platform for our data center grade cards to create new streams of revenue. The Company foresees the creation of new streams of revenues from GPUs, such as providing HPC services for rendering, AI, ML, molecular modelling, etc. Let's take the GPU mining angle first. The unfortunate reality for HIVE is most GPU mineable coins are not generally used in DeFi or other on-chain activities. Thus, there is not a large demand for the coins that would necessitate higher coin prices and by extension profitable mining. Many seem to believe when Ethereum's merge is complete, the GPU mining machines will shift to another cryptocurrency that can be profitably mined with the same hardware. On the surface, the obvious choice appears to be Ethereum Classic (ETC-USD) and that coin has seen one of the strongest rallies in crypto because of that speculation; up 200% since mid-July.

Seeking Alpha • Aug 17

HIVE Blockchain Technologies reports FQ1 results

HIVE Blockchain Technologies press release (NASDAQ:HIVE): FQ1 net loss is $95.3M for the period. Gross mining margin of $27.0M. Revenue of $44.2M (~+13% Y/Y). Adjusted EBITDA of $11.2M. It mined 1338 Bitcoin equivalent, comprised of 821 green and clean Bitcoin as well as 7,675 green and clean Ethereum.

Seeking Alpha • Aug 05

HIVE Blockchain reports 279.9 BTC produced in July 2022

HIVE Blockchain Technologies (NASDAQ:HIVE) reported global Bitcoin and Ethereum mining operations for July 2022, with a BTC HODL balance of 3,091 Bitcoin and 6,820 Ethereum as of August 4, 2022. The company produced 279.9 BTC (compared to 278.5 BTC in June 2022) with 2.2 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity at beginning of July, and 2.26 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity during the month of July. Total bitcoin equivalent production in July 2022 stood at 465.1 BTC equivalent produced, 15.0 BTC Equivalent produced per day on average, 3.77 Exahash of BTC Equivalent Hashrate. Meanwhile, the Ethereum mining capacity at the start of July stood at 5.77 which increased to 6.49 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity at the end of the month. "In July we produced an average of 15.0 Bitcoin Equivalent per day, comprised of approximately 9.0 BTC per day and our Ethereum production of approximately 95 Ethereum per day. We are pleased to note that as of today, we are producing approximately 10 BTC a day in addition to approximately 95 Ethereum per day," Executive Chairman Frank Holmes commented. The Bitcoin network difficulty decreased 6.5% during the month of July. The Ethereum network difficulty had a sudden difficulty decrease of almost 20% at the end of June, which was followed by a slight and gradual increase of 1.6% during the month of July, impacting the gross profit margins. Shares are up 1.63% after-hours.

Seeking Alpha • Jul 22

HIVE: Red Flags In Quarterly Release

HIVE is a crypto miner with mining assets in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland. At current BTC and ETH prices, HIVE appears to be mining at negative gross margins. HIVE is the most exposed to Ethereum, which is transitioning to Proof-of-Stake in the next few months and could make mining equipment obsolete. HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE) stock rose almost 8% on the back of its recently released Q4/2022 earnings. I find the reaction puzzling as I found the earnings report to be negative, while the stock reacted very positively. Of course this could simply be because I'm an old dinosaur and I just don't "get" the crypto story. But below, I'll highlight some of the red flags I saw from HIVE's earnings report and business in general. Mining At Negative Gross Margin? HIVE reported record $211 million in revenues and $79 million in earnings for fiscal 2022, and a 545% growth in BTC mining hashrate. All fine and good, what's the issue? The issue I have is the quarterly progression, especially in the mining margins. HIVE has a March year-end, so it's Q4 is the calendar quarter ended March 31, 2022. Figure 1 is reproduced from the company's Q4 MD&A report. Figure 1 - HIVE quarterly earnings (HIVE Q4/2022 MD&A) Notice HIVE's Q4 Gross Mining Margin was 46%. HIVE defines Gross Mining Margin as: The Gross mining margin is defined as revenue less direct cash costs, being operating and maintenance costs. In other words, it's revenues from selling 'mined' coins less the power it costs to operate the mining equipment. What's wrong with a 46% margin? Figure 2 and 3 shows the monthly average Ethereum and Bitcoin prices. Notice for HIVE's Q4, Ethereum prices averaged $2,933 while Bitcoin prices averaged $41,281. Figure 2 - Monthly Ethereum Statistics (HIVE Q4/2022 MD&A) Figure 3 - Monthly Bitcoin statistics (HIVE Q4/2022 MD&A) If Gross Mining Margin was only 46% when Bitcoin and Ethereum prices were $41k and $2.9k respectively, what would margins be at current prices? As of today's close, Bitcoin and Ethereum were approximately $23.5k and $1.5k, or 57% and 52% of the average Q4 realized price. Even if hashrates and difficulty were kept the same, HIVE would be mining coins at zero gross mining margin! Unfortunately, that's not all. According to data from blockchain.com, Bitcoin difficult has gone up since March (Figure 4), so HIVE could be mining Bitcoins at negative gross margins. Figure 4 - Bitcoin difficult has continued to rise (Blockchain.com) Fortunately for HIVE, Ethereum difficulty has gone down to roughly December 2021 levels, so perhaps HIVE can mine Ethereum at a small positive gross mining margin (Figure 5). Figure 5 - Ethereum difficulty has gone down (Ethereum.io) Mining Equipment Obsolescence An Issue Furthermore, in Figure 1, HIVE already tells the reader it is mining at a negative gross margin of -25% in Q4, after factoring in depreciation. Unlike traditional mining where mining equipment has relatively long useful lives, crypto mining relies on specialized ASICS and GPUs that become obsolete very quickly. HIVE depreciates its data center mining equipment on a straight line schedule over 2 to 4 years and includes it when calculating Gross Margin. What is especially interesting with this earnings report is the QoQ jump in depreciation expense from $15 million in Q3 to $35.5 million in Q4. The MD&A was not very helpful, as it only said: Depreciation for the quarter of $35.5 million related to the Company’s data centre equipment and right of use assets.

Seeking Alpha • Jul 14

Hive Blockchain Is Efficient And Strategically On Point, With A Catch

HIVE is strategically on point being ESG compliant through 100% renewables and adopting the HODL strategy from day one. HIVE offers an acceptable margin of safety in terms of price to hard assets in excess of the total liabilities ratio, even though IREN still trumps in this aspect. HIVE is truly a low-cost operator by achieving an actual best-in-class cost structure which stands at only $22,500 per BTC which is 35% lower than the sector average. The catch lies in HIVE's delayed report even though we expect HIVE to maintain its low cost operations in 2022Q1 and 2022Q2. HIVE is our current prime go-to crypto mining company to invest in when Bitcoin shows signs of recovery, assuming no material changes to HIVE in the future. Introduction We've been in the market searching for crypto mining companies that can provide alpha. We've covered the likes of Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Marathon Digital (MARA), Iris Energy (IREN), Soluna Holdings (SLNH), Core Scientific (CORZ), and Bitfarms (BITF). Our prerequisites for a crypto mining company to be investable is to be 100% powered by renewable energies. By this standard, only IREN and SLNH made the cut. IREN's investment proposition is centered around being priced near the value of its total hard assets (cash, land, and grid-connected power facilities). The problem with IREN is that its total mining cost isn't as efficient as other miners. On the other hand, not only SLNH's mining cost is inefficient, it is limited to the availability of curtailed renewable energy. Since we expect the curtailed renewable energy to shrink over time, SLNH's business prospects will also be limited. BITF's mining operation is much more efficient than IREN and SLNH. Unfortunately, BITF's Bitcoin mining operations in Argentina are powered by natural gas. Hence, it is disqualified from being 100% powered by renewable energy. The same goes for RIOT and MARA for being only carbon-neutral and not 100% powered by renewables yet. What we want to find out in this article is whether HIVE Blockchain (HIVE) can fill in the gap and offer IREN-level sufficient margin of safety with leading mining efficiency. HIVE is Strategically On Point The first thing investors can see on HIVE's homepage is the following statement: ... The company uses 100% green energy to mine both Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a committed ESG strategy since day one. HIVE strives to create long-term shareholder value with its unique HODL strategy... This statement has 2 very big implications for us. It confirms that HIVE aligns with our view of what makes a crypto mining company investable. Firstly, the first statement affirms that the company is aware of ESG risks from day one. The ESG risk is a material one. Core Scientific acknowledges it in its official fillings: Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders, customers, government regulators and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") policies may impose additional costs on us or expose us to additional risks. To our knowledge, one way to be ESG-compliant is to be carbon neutral. For crypto miners to be carbon neutral means to absorb the same amount of carbon emitted throughout mining operation. If the carbon cannot be absorbed locally, it can be offset in another region through methods such as afforestation (e.g., buying plots of land to plant trees). The problem with carbon offsets is the method of measuring how much carbon is absorbed. Any changes in the measurement technique could risk the company's ESG compliance. Therefore, HIVE's 100% green energy strategy is on point. Secondly, crypto mining companies act as proxies for the underlying asset mined. Crypto mining companies should maximize asset retention. The more the crypto mining companies hold the assets in reserve, the more valuable they are. In fact, it is one of the key metrics in our valuation framework. Based on these 2 aspects, HIVE is indeed strategically on point for us. HIVE met our prerequisites and resonates with us. Good Margin of Safety and Best-in-Class Efficiency As per HIVE's latest quarter report (CY2021Q4), HIVE managed to mine 1220 equivalent Bitcoins (697 Bitcoins and 7,126 Ethereum). HIVE's all-in business cost which consists of Operation and Maintenance, Depreciation, General and Administrative Expenses, Shared-based Compensation, and Financial Expenses totaled $27.4mil. This implies that HIVE's total all-in business cost per BTC-equivalent mined is only $22,500 (Table 1). If non-cash expenses (depreciation and share-based compensation) are excluded, HIVE's total all-in business cash cost per BTC equivalent is only $8,900. To put this into perspective, HIVE's all-in cost remains the lowest when compared to the 7 other crypto mining companies we've covered so far (Table 1). HIVE's total all-in business cost per BTC equivalent is also consistently low over the past 2 other quarters (CY2021Q3 and CY2021Q2) at $17,842 and $23,468 respectively (Table 2). The same goes for HIVE's total all-in business cash cost per BTC equivalent in CY2021Q3 and CY2021Q2 at $8,856 and $11,475 respectively. We seldom deem a crypto mining business cost as low. This is the lowest we've seen. Table 1. All-in Business Cost per BTC Equivalent mined Companies All-in Business Cost Per BTC Equivalent mined HIVE $22,500 BITF $34,340.00 CORZ $35,816.00 SLNH $54,000-$64500* IREN $39,355.00 RIOT $30,800.00 MARA $31,700.00 Source: Author, HIVE *Excluding Hosting, Range Depending on how shared costs are pro-rated between hosting and self-mining (proprietary) Table 2. HIVE's Mining Business Costs QR((CY)) BTC-Equivalent Mined Total Mining Cost ($mil) Operating and Maintenance ($mil) Depreciation ($mil) General and Admin ($mil) Share-based comps ($mil) Financials ($mil) 2021Q4 1220 27.4 6.526 15 2.862 1.672 1.338 2021Q3 1233 22 7.6 9.6 2.63 1.48 0.305 2021Q2 767 18 6.2 6.9 2.3 2.3 0.3 Source: Author, HIVE In terms of margin of safety, HIVE has $63mil cash and $203mil worth of deposits and equipment. HIVE's reserve also has 3,239 BTC and 7,667 ETH as per the June 2022 update and is worth $70.5mil as of the time of writing. Hence, these assets are worth about $330mil. These assets in excess of total liabilities ($55.1mil) are worth $280mil. HIVE's market cap as of the time of writing is $260mil, which is about 10% lower than HIVE's assets (cash + reserves + deposits + equipment) in excess of total liabilities. Comparatively, BITF is traded at around a similar metric while IREN is trading around 55% lower than the similar metric. Hence, IREN's margin of safety remains the best. That being said, HIVE's margin of margin is good and acceptable. The Catch The catch mentioned in the title of this article is the date. HIVE's data is based on 2021Q4 while other miners mentioned in Table 1 are based on 2022Q1. This catch is significant because the crude oil price jumped from about $77 to nearly $130 per barrel while the natural gas price increased from $4 to nearly $6 in 2022Q1.

Seeking Alpha • Jul 06

HIVE Blockchain receives notice of deficiency from NASDAQ

HIVE Blockchain (NASDAQ:HIVE) has received a notice of deficiency from NASDAQ, stating that it is no longer in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) over its failure to timely submit its Annual report on Form 40-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. The company is required to submit a plan to regain compliance within 60 calendar days from the date of the notice. If the plan is accepted by Nasdaq, HIVE may be granted up to 180 calendar days from the due date of the Form 40-F to regain compliance. HIVE intends to file the Annual Filings on or before July 15, 2022. The notice will not result in the immediate delisting of the common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market. Shares are down 1.2% after-hours.

Seeking Alpha • May 18

HIVE Blockchain Is A Rare Value Stock In The Crypto Space

HIVE has been pummeled this year. The stock is now trading for a historically low P/S ratio. It is meaningfully below tangible book value.

Seeking Alpha • Apr 28

HIVE Blockchain: Positioned For Strong Growth Ahead

HIVE Blockchain has a solid balance sheet that will help it endure the weak economic conditions now weighing on the crypto sector. Even though the share price of HIVE is likely to fall further, it's still at a terrific entry point. Why I believe HIVE will be a multi-bagger going forward.

Seeking Alpha • Apr 13

HIVE Blockchain: The Ethereum 2.0 Merger Raises Important Questions

HIVE is even more volatile than some of the more popular miners, but the risks are not without the rewards. HIVE is facing a period of uncertainty with respect to the Ethereum merger. The company is showing huge hashrate increases and is starting to improve its posture relative to its peers.

Seeking Alpha • Mar 17

HIVE Blockchain: The Ethereum Gambit

HIVE is highly profitable but is heavily reliant on Ethereum. Ethereum is shifting away from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake creating problems for HIVE. HIVE is in a strong financial position compared to its peers.

Sneeuwvlok Score
Waardering	2/6
Toekomstige groei	2/6
Prestaties in het verleden	0/6
Financiële gezondheid	4/6
Dividenden	0/6

Historische aandelenkoersen
Huidige aandelenkoers	CA$2.94
52 Week Hoogtepunt	CA$7.84
52 Week Laag	CA$1.60
Bèta	3.44
1 maand verandering	49.24%
3 maanden verandering	46.27%
1 Jaar Verandering	69.94%
3 jaar verandering	-6.37%
5 jaar verandering	-79.86%
Verandering sinds IPO	1,167.24%

	HIVE	US Software	US Markt
7D	32.4%	3.7%	3.2%
1Y	69.9%	-7.9%	31.0%

HIVE volatility
HIVE Average Weekly Movement	11.3%
Software Industry Average Movement	9.7%
Market Average Movement	7.1%
10% most volatile stocks in US Market	16.1%
10% least volatile stocks in US Market	3.2%

HIVE fundamentele statistieken
Marktkapitalisatie	US$716.92m
Inkomsten(TTM)	-US$125.06m
Inkomsten(TTM)	US$257.14m

HIVE resultatenrekening (TTM)
Inkomsten	US$257.14m
Kosten van inkomsten	US$157.99m
Brutowinst	US$99.15m
Overige uitgaven	US$224.20m
Inkomsten	-US$125.06m

Winst per aandeel (EPS)	-0.49
Brutomarge	38.56%
Nettowinstmarge	-48.63%
Schuld/Eigen Vermogen Verhouding	2.5%

Gegevens	Laatst bijgewerkt (UTC-tijd)
Bedrijfsanalyse	2026/05/06 10:42
Aandelenkoers aan het einde van de dag	2026/05/06 00:00
Inkomsten	2025/12/31
Jaarlijkse inkomsten	2025/03/31

Pakket	Gegevens	Tijdframe	Voorbeeld Amerikaanse bron ^*
Financiële gegevens bedrijf	10 jaar	Resultatenrekening Kasstroomoverzicht Balans	SEC-formulier 10-K SEC-formulier 10-Q
Consensus schattingen analisten	+3 jaar	Financiële prognoses Koersdoelen analisten	Onderzoeksrapporten van analisten Blue Matrix
Marktprijzen	30 jaar	Aandelenprijzen Dividenden, splitsingen en acties	ICE Marktgegevens SEC-formulier S-1
Eigendom	10 jaar	Top aandeelhouders Handel met voorkennis	SEC-formulier 4 SEC-formulier 13D
Beheer	10 jaar	Leiderschapsteam Raad van bestuur	SEC-formulier 10-K SEC-formulier DEF 14A
Belangrijkste ontwikkelingen	10 jaar	Bedrijfsaankondigingen	SEC-formulier 8-K

Analist	Instelling
Lucas Pipes	B. Riley Securities, Inc.
Fedor Shabalin	B. Riley Securities, Inc.
Nicholas Giles	B. Riley Securities, Inc.

HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE) Aandelenoverzicht

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Prijsgeschiedenis en prestaties

Recent nieuws en updates

Chief Operating Officer recently sold US$142k worth of stock

Third quarter 2026 earnings: EPS and revenues miss analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q3, 2026 Results on Feb 17, 2026

Investor sentiment deteriorates as stock falls 19%

Price target decreased by 17% to US$7.50

Independent Director recently sold US$162k worth of stock

Recent updates

Chief Operating Officer recently sold US$142k worth of stock

Third quarter 2026 earnings: EPS and revenues miss analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q3, 2026 Results on Feb 17, 2026

Investor sentiment deteriorates as stock falls 19%

Price target decreased by 17% to US$7.50

Independent Director recently sold US$162k worth of stock

HIVE Digital Looks Cheap Now, But Bitcoin Cyclicality Still Dominates

Investor sentiment improves as stock rises 16%

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd., Annual General Meeting, Mar 05, 2026

Investor sentiment deteriorates as stock falls 16%

Investor sentiment improves as stock rises 16%

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. has filed a Follow-on Equity Offering in the amount of $300 million.

New major risk - Revenue and earnings growth

Second quarter 2026 earnings: Revenues exceed analysts expectations while EPS lags behind

Investor sentiment deteriorates as stock falls 19%

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q2, 2026 Results on Nov 14, 2025

President & CEO recently sold US$243k worth of stock

Executive Chairman recently sold US$781k worth of stock

Investor sentiment deteriorates as stock falls 16%

Independent Director recently sold US$554k worth of stock

Investor sentiment improves as stock rises 22%

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. Completes 20 Exahash Per Second of Global Bitcoin Mining Capacity

President & CEO recently sold US$310k worth of stock

Chief Operating Officer recently sold US$132k worth of stock

New minor risk - Share price stability

Investor sentiment improves as stock rises 25%

Chief Operating Officer recently sold US$107k worth of stock

Investor sentiment improves as stock rises 19%

Hive Digital Technologies Crosses 16 EH/S, Marching Toward 25 EH/S as Expansion in Paraguay Powers Forward

First quarter 2026 earnings: EPS and revenues exceed analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. Exceeds 12 Exahash Per Second (EH/s) of Global Bitcoin Mining Hashrate

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. Announces the Official Launch of Phase 2 ( Second 100 Mw) At Its Hydro-Powered Yguazu Facility in Paraguay

Full year 2025 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. Surpasses 11 EH/s Bitcoin Hashrate Milestone as 100 MW Phase 1 in Paraguay Completed Ahead of Schedule

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q4, 2025 Results on Jun 26, 2025

Independent Director recently sold US$201k worth of stock

New minor risk - Share price stability

Price target decreased by 15% to US$7.38

HIVE Digital: Continue To Avoid

Third quarter 2025 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations while revenues lag behind

Price target increased by 7.3% to US$8.36

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q3, 2025 Results on Feb 11, 2025

Hive Digital Technologies Ltd. Appoints John R. Evans Jr. to Global Strategy Advisory Committee

New major risk - Shareholder dilution

Insufficient new directors

New major risk - Shareholder dilution

Second quarter 2025 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations while revenues lag behind

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q2, 2025 Results on Nov 13, 2024

Price target increased by 8.0% to US$6.75

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. has filed a Follow-on Equity Offering in the amount of $200 million.

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd., Annual General Meeting, Dec 11, 2024

First quarter 2025 earnings: EPS and revenues exceed analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Q1, 2025 Results on Aug 13, 2024

Full year 2024 earnings: EPS and revenues exceed analyst expectations

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. to Report Fiscal Year 2024 Results on Jun 24, 2024

Third quarter 2024 earnings: EPS and revenues exceed analyst expectations

Independent Director recently sold US$257k worth of stock

Price target decreased by 22% to US$5.33