Bitcoin, Bubbles & Hydro! HIVE CFO Spills the (Renewable) Tea on Post-Halving Mayhem 🚰🚀

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Ah, the post-halving chapter of Bitcoin mining—a landscape so transformed that even the Queen would have to check the headlines twice. Into this heady brew swoops HIVE Digital Technologies, employing “measured ambition” (a phrase usually reserved for would-be royalty or people attempting dry January).

We had the distinct pleasure (or was it peril?) of interrogating Darcy Daubaras, HIVE’s ever-steady CFO, about everything from supersizing the company’s hashrate to 25 EH/s (I assure you, that’s not a vintage champagne) to staying fiercely allergic to debt—because nothing says financial discipline like never owing the bank manager a cocktail.

And so, let us don our best dinner jackets, refresh our G&Ts, and peer behind the velvet curtain of hydro-cooled mining, AI cloud services, and HIVE’s insistence on playing both the Bitcoin and high-performance computing pianos. Even Chopin didn’t multitask quite like this.

All right, darling readers, on to the exclusive tĂȘte-Ă -tĂȘte with Darcy himself. Cue the orchestra, and gently dim the chandeliers


crypto.news: HIVE is aiming for a hashrate crescendo of 25 EH/s by late 2025—a scale-up of frankly operatic proportions. Having just reached 10 EH/s (bravo!), that’s a further leap of 2.5x. What’s to stop the set collapsing in Act 2? 

DD: Oh, only the usual gremlins: supply chains having existential crises, logistics best described as “Kafkaesque,” and construction timelines that tend to regard calendars with suspicion. But, fear not! Our choreography includes disciplined planning, phased performances, and—this is key—actual competent people on stage at every location. In Paraguay, maestro Gabriel Lamas leads the ops—he’s electrified more infrastructure than a Bond villain with a conscience. With him at the controls, our hydro-powered data centres are less “death trap” and more “Swiss watch,” darling.

CN: And financing all this drama, especially when one has an aversion to debt? Will you slap the piggy bank marked “Bitcoin” or just sell a few NFTs of Darcy’s finest spreadsheet poses?

DD: We do prefer the no-debt waltz—call us old-fashioned. Dipping into our Bitcoin hoard is an option, but one must time these things with the poise of a conductor at the Albert Hall. We’re prudent, darling: only swapping Bitcoin when the music is just right, not when the market resembles a teenager’s mood swings.

CN: S21+ Hydro ASICs apparently give you the Midas touch. I confess, I know less about the innards of hydro-cooling than a corgi knows about the blockchain. Are these machines really magic or just another gizmo that’ll gather dust next to my breadmaker?

DD: These beauties do more for our operational efficiency than a third gin at lunch. By plunging our ASICs into hydro-cooling, we’ve reduced our carbon footprint, our noise, and—most importantly—our headaches. The hardware is only the overture, you see. We tinker with it, coaxing every last drop of performance out—more Pygmalion than plug-and-play. The upshot? Greener, quicker, quieter, and nothing catches fire (unless you count the quarterly reports).

CN: You reported a rather lush 35% margin in 2024. But now with post-halving gloom and difficulty up, what are the odds that margin doesn’t end up where lost socks go?

DD: You’ve spotted the plot twist! At $120K BTC, we’re living la dolce vita with 65% margins; even if BTC trips and grazes its knee below $100K, we’ll soldier on. Our team is so lean, it makes marathon runners look positively portly, and our spendthrift impulses are checked at the door.

CN: AI clouds, GPU this, high-performance that
 aren’t you lot just getting bored of coins and wanting a slice of Silicon Valley glamour?

DD: Diversification isn’t a midlife crisis—it’s a strategy! Years ago, while crypto miners were still arguing about the pronunciation of “Ethereum,” we repurposed our GPUs and dashed into AI cloud territory. It’s proven most prescient, as demand is now surging faster than champagne at closing time. When crypto slumbers, AI spins the disco ball—ensuring HIVE stays in the limelight.

CN: When the next Bitcoin winter bites, do you have a secret stash of firewood or is it all stiff upper lip and hodling until spring?

DD: Our approach: a little risk management, lots of operational nous, and the occasional foray into selling BTC when it makes sense. We didn’t get this far by panic-selling on a Tuesday, dear.

CN: The ESG brigade is banging on the doors, pitchforks in hand. Is HIVE the Greta Thunberg of mining—or at least somewhat less eco-unfriendly than the rest?

DD: Our record in renewables would make even the Norwegians blink. Iceland, Sweden, Canada, Paraguay; if it’s cold and green, we’re there. ESG isn’t just a checkbox—it’s a mode of existence. And if you’ve ever wanted to monetize stranded hydropower in glamorous locales, do get in touch.

CN: Surely, not every miner will survive this Shakespearean landscape. If your rivals fall on their swords, will HIVE buy up the crown jewels or leave them to the creditors?

DD: A shakeout is only natural; think of it as spring cleaning with financial consequences. We’ll snap up assets, yes—provided they meet our standards (and have at least one redeeming social value, naturally).

CN: When shopping for mining sites, do you just flip a globe and point, or is there actual method to the madness?

DD: Energy is the true kingmaker, and Paraguay wears the hydro-crown. Still, we diversify—never put all your ASICs in one datacentre, I always say. Regulatory shocks are so passĂ©.

CN: Why not just base everything in Paraguay—do you simply enjoy airport security that much?

DD: As much as we adore Paraguay, even paradise comes with the occasional mosquito. Geographical variety is our insurance policy—the mining equivalent of never buying a house next to a volcano, even if the view is lovely.

CN: Are you basically “MicroStrategy, but with hydroelectric flair”? Do investors buy HIVE for Bitcoin, for AI, or for the sheer panache?

DD: Think of us not as a mere “Bitcoin ETF with buttons,” but as a cross between the Green Party and NASA. Dual monetization: mining and high-performance computing, powered by renewables. Investors wanting a taste of the digital future (without having to explain DeFi to their grandmother) are most welcome here.

CN: Any chance of you and MicroStrategy joining forces, taking over the world SPIES-style?

DD: While Strategy is busy flexing its balance sheet and mysterious spreadsheets, we’re quite content building actual infrastructure. Two different philosophies: they’re the Gatsby with the trust fund; we’re the self-made tycoon with a fleet of hydro-cooled gadgets. If a partnership ever emerges, rest assured—no one will see it coming, least of all our lawyers.

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2025-06-18 21:03