HIVE Buys 4.3 EH/s of S21+ Hydro Bitcoin Miners for $60M

Canada-based Bitcoin mining and data center operator HIVE Digital has preordered 4.3 EH/s of Bitmain’s Antminer S21+ Hydro mining equipment and secured an option to purchase another 4.3 EH/s.

In a release on Tuesday, HIVE announced an initial order for 13,480 units of the S21+ Hydro Bitcoin miners, delivering a total hashrate capacity of 4.3 EH/s for $60.2 million. At a unit price of $14/TH/s, this purchase is more cost-effective than other recent preorders for ASIC miners with similar efficiency levels, though the delivery schedule is relatively longer.

As part of the agreement, HIVE secured an option to purchase an additional 4.3 EH/s of the same model, exercisable within one year. If the option is fully exercised, HIVE’s mining fleet could expand by a total of 8.6 EH/s, powered by its upcoming 100-megawatt site in Paraguay, which is under development.

“With this deployment, we project an ROI of approximately 10 months, considering the current hashrate economics of $60/PH per day after accounting for electrical and direct operating costs,” said HIVE CEO and President Aydin Kilic.

This preorder aligns with HIVE’s plans, outlined in its Q3 earnings report, to acquire approximately 28,200 S21 Pro (or equivalent) ASIC miners for $115 million, or $17/TH/s, to be delivered and installed in Paraguay.

The S21+ Hydro and the air-cooled S21 Pro both feature a power efficiency of 15 J/TH, but the S21+ Hydro offers a higher hashrate output of 319 TH/s per unit compared to the S21 Pro’s 234 TH/s per unit. HIVE cited field research indicating that hydro-cooled ASIC miners perform “exceptionally well” in Paraguay’s hot and humid climate.

This purchase forms part of HIVE’s ongoing fleet upgrade and expansion strategy amid intensifying competition in the Bitcoin mining industry. Last month, HIVE acquired 1.2 EH/s of Avalon’s A1566 Bitcoin miners. The company projects reaching 6.4 EH/s at an efficiency of 19.5 J/TH by Q1 2025, and 15 EH/s with a blended efficiency of 17 J/TH by the summer of 2025, assuming full exercise of the Bitmain option.