HIVE Blockchain announces major expansion in Sweden

HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (the “Company” or “HIVE”), the leading publicly listed blockchain infrastructure company, has announced that it has entered into binding letter agreements dated December 13, 2017 with its strategic partner and major shareholder, Genesis Mining Ltd. (“Genesis”), the largest digital currency mining Hash Power provider, to significantly expand the Company’s digital currency mining operations in Sweden in 2018, including the addition of a large-scale Bitcoin mining facility.

This major expansion will increase HIVE’s energy consumption dedicated to digital currency mining from a targeted 17.4 megawatts (“MW”) in March 2018 to 24.2 MW in April 2018, escalating to an expected 44.2 MW by September 2018, and will include:

• a new ASIC-based data centre in Sweden, with hardware procured and assembled by Genesis on behalf of HIVE for consideration of an estimated US$34 million and expected to come online in September 2018. The hardware will consist of the latest generation of Bitcoin mining rigs and will operate at an estimated rate of 200 peta-hashes per second (“PH/s”) and support an approximate consumption of 20 MW of electricity; and
• a third phase (additional 6.8 MW) of the Company’s previously-announced GPU-based data centre in Sweden, customised for mining GPU-based digital currencies (e.g., Ethereum), for consideration of an estimated US$22 million and expected completion in April 2018.

The Company is also pleased to announce a private placement financing of up to C$100 million, led by GMP Securities L.P. and Eventus Capital Corp., with a lead indication of C$50 million received.

“The addition of Bitcoin mining capability further establishes HIVE as a leader in digital currency mining and diversifies our revenue with a highly liquid currency,” commented Harry Pokrandt, President, CEO and a Director at HIVE. “Our new Bitcoin facility will be among the most energy-efficient and largest Bitcoin mining farms in Europe. This facility will complement our large-scale GPU-based facilities being built in Sweden and currently operating in Iceland and allow us to diversify from mining GPU-driven consensus algorithms to also include SHA-256 consensus algorithms. Sweden, like Iceland, is an excellent jurisdiction for HIVE with its abundant cheap electricity, good governance, and cool climate.”