Argo Moves More Bitcoin Miners to Merkle Despite S19j Pro Woes
Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ: ARBK) has expanded its hosting agreement with Merkle Standard to deploy an additional 2,820 S19j Pro Bitcoin miners, as the company continues to navigate financial and operational challenges.
In a Monday release, Argo announced it had amended its colocation agreement with Merkle Standard, increasing its hosted S19j Pro miners to 8,113 at Merkle’s Memphis, Tennessee, facility—up from the 5,293 reported in January.
The company said the new miners will be deployed in February and March under a minimum one-year term. By the end of March, Argo expects to have approximately 46% of the 23,000 S19j Pro miners previously hosted at Galaxy Digital’s Helios site back in operation.
Argo did not disclose its hosting rate, but the S19j Pro currently generates $0.076 per kilowatt-hour in revenue, based on Bitcoin’s hashprice of $54/PH/s. Without significantly lower hosting fees, the company’s miners may struggle to generate meaningful gross profits to cover operational and financial costs.
As of Q3 2024, Argo reported $5.5 million in current assets, including $2.5 million in cash. The company’s operating expenses for the quarter totaled $2.87 million, with an additional $1.44 million in financial costs due to its $1.2 million current loans and $38.6 million long-term debt. To sustain operations, Argo raised £4.2 million (about $5.3 million) in December.
However, Argo’s mining output was severely impacted in January and early Q1 after its miners were removed from a Galaxy Digital facility during relocation negotiations. The delay in full deployment has further strained the company’s ability to generate revenue.
Meanwhile, other Bitcoin mining companies like MARA, Iris Energy, CleanSpark, Bitdeer, and Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT) have been deploying strategies to either repurpose or liquidate their S19 series since the 2024 Halving.
