Bitcoin Miner Argo Borrows Another $70M for Rigs From NYDIG

By Stacy Elliott

Argo Helios, a Texas-based subsidiary of London Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain, has secured a $70.6 million loan from NYDIG to buy more mining rigs.

The new loan follows the March announcement of a $26.6 million loan from NYDIG, which the company borrowed at an 8.25% interest rate, bringing the total amount borrowed from the New York-based investment manager to $97.2 million.

According to an SEC filing, the agreement breaks the funding into eight separate loans, each with a 12% interest rate and two-year term. The first $19 million is available on April 29, another $24 million at the end of May, $10 million at the end of June, and the remaining $17 million at the end of July.

“NYDIG understands the financial requirements of large-scale Bitcoin miners and we are excited to continue working with them to execute and deliver on the next phase of Argo’s growth,” Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall said in a statement. 

The company last month signed a contract to operate its Helios facility in Dickens County, located in Northwest Texas, saying it would have 200 megawatts of 800 total megawatts operational by the end of May. Last month, the company said it had hired Navier Inc., which specialize in setting up crypto mining operations, to build out the new facility.

Argo, which trades on the Nasdaq under ARBK, has had a rough start to 2022. Its stock has lost nearly 35% since the start of the year.

But it’s not alone. The rest of the publicly traded mining company cohort has been sliding since the start of 2022. Riot Blockchain (RIOT) is down almost 70%, Bitfarms (BITF) has lost more than 37%, and HIVE Blockchain (HIVE) has tumbled nearly 42%.

In its full-year report for 2021, released last week, Argo reported $100 million in revenue, a 291% increase over 2020. But that was largely due to the fact that Argo increased its hashrate, Bitcoin prices increased, and mining difficulty decreased.

For its part, NYDIG has made a big push into the Bitcoin mining category. 

In addition to financing the new Argo facility, NYDIG has loaned $71 million to Australian Bitcoin miner Iris Energy. In March, it closed a deal to provide an $81 million loan to Greenidge Generation to add mining capacity to its controversial Dresden, New York, facility.

NYDIG will also act as custodian for Bitcoin mined by Fort Worth, Texas, during its six-month mining project with rigs provided by the Texas Blockchain Council.

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