Argo Blockchain PLC pays down debt and expands mining capacity as Bitcoin enters

() said it has repaid a debt taken out last year and reported on its expanded cryptocurrency mining capacity following its first month of operation after the latest Bitcoin halving.

A Bitcoin halving is when the reward for successfully processing a single ‘block’ of transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain is reduced by 50%, making it more difficult to acquire the digital currency through mining and reducing the rate of supply.

READ: Argo Blockchain expands cryptocurrency mining capacity

Over the month of June, Argo said it had mined 180 Bitcoin or Bitcoin equivalent compared to 252 in May, taking the total amount of Bitcoin mined in the first six months of the year to 1,669.

Mining revenue in June amounted to £1.41mln from £1.93mln in May, meanwhile, the company generated an average monthly mining margin of around 27% compared to 34% in the prior month.

Argo said the lower number of mined coins and margins was largely a result of June being the first full month after the halving, a rise in mining difficulty mid-month and an adjustment to more cost-efficient mining.

The firm also reported that it held 118 Bitcoin at the end of June, in line with its asset management strategy, while its total mining capacity now stood at 18,000 machines, representing a 244% increase in mining power from the end of 2019.

Argo added that it has repaid a debt it took out last year, leaving only this year’s debt relating to its recent purchase of 750 Bitmain Z11 cryptocurrency mining units outstanding.

“Argo continues to progress its strategy to be one of the world’s largest and most efficient publicly-listed cryptominers. Despite the challenging market conditions post-halving the company continues to deliver some of the best mining margins in the industry. We look to the future with much confidence”, chief executive Peter Wall said in a statement.