Riot Platforms Stirs Up Bitcoin Mining Market, Increases Stake in Rival Bitfarms to 12%

In a recent development, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining company Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) has increased its stake in competitor Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) to 12%.

What Happened: Riot Platforms acquired roughly 1.5 million shares of Bitfarms at an approximate price of $2.45 per share, as per a Reuters report on Wednesday. This acquisition comes on top of Riot’s existing beneficial ownership of about 11.63% of Bitfarms’ shares.

Riot has indicated its plans to call for a special shareholder meeting to include independent directors on Bitfarms’ board, due to concerns regarding the latter’s corporate governance.

This move follows a previous announcement by Kerrisdale Capital of a short position in Riot Platforms, which resulted in a 9% drop in Riot’s share price.

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Why It Matters: Riot Platforms’ increased stake in Bitfarms comes after the latter rejected Riot’s nearly $1 billion acquisition proposal last month. The deal, which would have seen Riot purchasing all of Bitfarms’ outstanding shares, was aimed at creating one of the largest publicly listed Bitcoin mining firms with broad geographic operations.

Furthermore, Riot Platforms has been the target of a short-sell report by Kerrisdale Capital, which has expressed a bearish view of the company. This development added to the volatility of Riot’s stock.

Price Action: Shares of Riot Platforms closed 0.21% lower at $9.650 during Wednesday’s regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Bitfarms’ shares ended the day 4.15% higher at $2.510.

Photo by Gaston Cerliani on Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.