Riot Blockchain is to shut down its crypto exchange and renewits focus on mining, citing various risks.
The company issued an update on its ‘strategic priorities’,with the action of sunsetting the RiotX Exchange taken after assessing, in thecompany’s words, “the evolving regulatory environment, cybersecurity risks, andthe current competitive landscape facing US-based cryptocurrency exchanges.”
The greater move to mining has been coming, with Riotrecently upgrading its Oklahoma City mining facility, as well as purchasing4,000 S17 miners from crypto mining product vendor Bitmain at the end of lastyear. “Going forward, Riot reinforces its confidence in Bitcoin by focusing onBitcoin mining and pursuing opportunities more directly related to Bitcoinmining,” the company wrote.
This confidence can be seen in the company also engaging theservices of XMS Capital Partners to, as the company puts it, ‘navigate thedynamic Bitcoin landscape’. XMS will be employed to assess on potential strategictransactions related to mining, although the company did not disclose further.
This move is by no means the only about-face Riot hasperformed – even with regards to its entry into the blockchain space. In late2017 the company changed its name to Riot Blockchain having previously tradedas Bioptix, focusing on biotech, while in September 2018 CEO John O’Rourke departedafter allegations of a pump and dump scheme to the tune of an estimated $27million leaving investors with ‘virtually worthless’ stock. O’Rourke was tolater settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Unlike other moniker-meddlers of its ilk, such as the infamous Long Blockchain Corp, Riot was – eventually – cleared of impropriety by the SEC, receiving notification that the investigation had been terminated last month. Long Blockchain, meanwhile, announced last week it was scrapping a proposed merger with subsidiary Stran.
