Riot Blockchain to shut operations as Bitcoin miners bid to conserve power for Texas’ grid

• Bitcoin miners in Texas have moved to power down on operations ahead of what is likely to be a major winter storm across the US state.

• Riot Blockchain started powering down its Whinstone facility in the state.

Bitcoin miners in the US state of Texas have begun shutting down mining facilities as the state prepares for what is expected to be a rough and extreme season of the winter storm, akin to what was recorded last February.

To help the state’s power grid, Riot Blockchain and other Bitcoin miners have initiated plans to remain closed for business, the miner said in a statement to Insider.

The move will help Texas conserve power for household use in case the weather proves as extreme as was seen a year ago, with the last winter storm seeing many families go without power in difficult conditions.

Riot said that its Whinstone facility would go offline and remain so for as long as the cold weather persists. According to the leading Bitcoin miner, operations will resume once the state’s weather improves.

Last year, Riot shut down its facility on 11 February and remained powered down for the next eight days, resuming full operations on 19 February.

The past year saw a growing number of miners relocate to Texas in search of cheap, reliable, and mostly green energy. That followed a massive exodus out of China after the country’s crackdown ended with many miners switching off their machines.

Publicly traded Riot Blockchain is one of the crypto-centric stocks to have tanked massively in 2022 following the crypto winter. On Thursday, the company’s stock was 2.2% on the day and more than 33% year-to-date.