Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has appointed three new directors to its board, one of which has experience in the conversion of Bitcoin mining assets toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC).
The newly appointed Riot board members Jaime Leverton, Doug Mouton and Michael Turner. Collectively, the three of them have experience with overseeing the conversion of Bitcoin (BTC) mining assets for potential AI and HPC use, along with data center and real estate experience, Riot said in a Feb. 13 statement.
Riot executive chairman Benjamin Yi said that the new additions to the board will bring “immediately applicable” expertise as they look to best “maximize the value of our unique assets.”
Leverton was formerly the CEO of Bitcoin miner Hut 8 Mining Corp and was behind the helm when the firm expanded into the HPC space by acquiring TeraGo’s data center business.
Mouton is a member of the advisory board for Fidelis New Energy, a company that develops zero-carbon power facilities and was previously senior engineer lead for datacenter design and construction at social media giant Meta.
Turner is the former president of global real estate investor Oxford Properties Group and, according to Riot, brings “deep real asset investment and capital allocation experience.”
After the halving last April 20, mining rewards were cut from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin per 210,000 blocks.
An October report from CoinShares speculated that less profitable BTC mining “may explain the rising trend of mining companies diversifying their income streams to include AI.”
In an August report, asset manager VanEck estimated that if publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies shifted 20% of their energy capacity to AI and HPC by 2027, they could increase additional yearly profits by $13.9 billion over 13 years.
Related: Riot Platforms buys more than $500M in Bitcoin
Riot CEO Jason Les said the firm is continuing to “advance our AI/HPC evaluation process as we seek to maximize value for our entire portfolio of assets.”
However, Riot said that despite the new hires, there is no guarantee its “existing assets are suitable for AI/HPC conversion,” that the change can be achieved on financially advantageous terms, or that an AI/HPC partnership can be negotiated.
Investment firm D.E. Shaw reportedly built an unknown-sized stake in Riot, and last month, Reuters reported that the investor was planning to push changes on the miner, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
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