World Crypto Global
- Written by: Damian Chmiel
- Thu, 28 Mar 2024
- Israel
AlthoughBitcoin (BTC) has already gained nearly 70% in 2024, shares of Argo Blockchain,a cryptocurrency mining company publicly listed in London and the USA, arescraping the bottom, falling 55%.Thecompany's solution to some of its problems and shareholder discontent is selling its data center in Mirabel, Canada. The company's London branch (LSE: ARB) announced the finalization of this move on Thursday. At thesame time, the miner issued over 460,000 new ordinary shares.Argo Blockchain ClosesSale of Mirabel Data Center, Reduces Debt by $12.4MThe plan to sell a data center in the Quebec region was first announced almost two months ago. The transaction, which yielded a total consideration of $6.1 million, hasenabled the company to reduce its debt and streamline its operations significantly.The netproceeds from the sale were used to repay the Mirabel Facility's outstandingmortgage of $1.4 million, with the remainder being allocated to repay debt owedto Galaxy Digital Holdings, Ltd. As of 28March 2024, Argo's debt balance with Galaxy is $12.8 million,representing a reduction of 63% from the original balance of $35 million."TheCompany continues to execute on its strategy of strengthening the balance sheetand reducing non-mining operating expenses. The Company reduced its debt by$12.4 million in Q1 2024, Thomas Chippas, the Chief Executive Officer at Argo,commented on the transaction.#ARB ARGO BLOCKCHAIN Closing on sale of Mirabel data centre for a total consideration of $6.1m The Dude (@Redpanda73) March 28, 2024In additionto the debt reduction, Argo has relocated and deployed mining machines from the Mirabel Facility to its facility in Baie Comeau,Quebec. This consolidation is expected to reduce the company's non-miningoperating expenses by $0.7 million per year, allowing for more efficient use ofthe facility and onsite team. ArgoBlockchain also announced the issuance of 460,477 new ordinary shares.Bitcoin Winter Hits ArgoAsmentioned at the very beginning, the price of Bitcoin is dynamically growing in2024. Initially, Argo Blockchain's shares rose along with it, butweaker-than-expected BTC production in the first months of the year causedshareholders to lose confidence in the company. As a result, the cryptocurrencyspring in the broad market turned into an extended winter for the digital assetminer.In themeantime, Argo Blockchain underwent significant changes in its managementranks. Seif El-Bakly stepped down as Chief Operating Officer after serving asinterim Chief Executive Officer from February to November 2023.Whether we look at Argo's shares listed in London or the USA, the chartsshow the same picture: a decline of about 55% since the beginning of the year.At the same time, Marathon Digital Holdings, the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency miner, is losing only 6%, and Phoenix Group is gaining around 2%.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
