HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE), owner and operator of state-of-the-art GPU-based digital currency mining facilities announced that it is ushering in a new chapter as HIVE transitions from its initial start-up phase to HIVE 2.0.
The company today has provided an update on its ASIC mining capacity which began operations on time on September 30, 2018. The previously announced cloud-based contract has been amended to reduce operating costs by 30%, retroactive to October 1, 2018, and provides the option to extend the contract term to two years from one year. Management believes this will have an immediate positive impact on profitability and cash flow generation for the Company.
Additionally, HIVE announced that it has appointed Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Group and a co-founder of HIVE, as its Vice-Chairman and that it has appointed Darcy Daubaras as Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Mr. Daubaras replaces Jessica Van Den Akker who has resigned from the Company. Mr. Daubaras will assume responsibility for signing off on the Company’s second-quarter financial statements. Management believes that these are positive corporate developments for HIVE and mark important milestones for the Company as it continues to expand its blockchain footprint and looks towards positive cash flow generation.
Marco Streng is the CEO and co-founder of Genesis as well as a co-founder of HIVE and brings significant experience in the blockchain infrastructure ecosystem. His experience benefits HIVE as the Company expands its footprint and presence in blockchain, including Bitcoin mining. Since its inception in 2013 and under the direction of Marco Streng, Genesis has grown to become the largest hash power provider in the cloud and a leading services provider to the blockchain industry.
Mr. Daubaras brings over 20 years of experience in corporate accounting and public company service. Prior to joining HIVE, Darcy was a member of the executive team at FinancialCAD Corporation. Mr. Daubaras has previously served as the Chief Financial Officer for Canadian listed public companies as well as serving as the Director of Corporate Accounting with Mercer International. Darcy was awarded a CPA, CA designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia as well as being awarded a CPA designation in Illinois and has experience with Sarbanes-Oxley. He received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Victoria.
Frank Holmes, HIVE Interim Executive Chairman, said
“I am pleased to welcome Darcy to the executive team and believe his significant experience will serve HIVE extremely well as we enter the next phase of the Company which we are calling HIVE 2.0. I am also pleased that Marco has agreed to join the Board of Directors given his expertise in blockchain as CEO and co-founder of Genesis. Further, the amendments made to the cloud-based services agreement with Genesis mean that HIVE’s mining operations are expected to see improved profitability despite current market conditions and we remain bullish on the long-term value of cryptocurrencies in spite of volatility seen throughout 2018. I would like to thank Jessica who has served as CFO since our launch as a publicly listed blockchain infrastructure company and is an industry pioneer. During her tenure, Jessica developed deep knowledge of the cryptocurrency industry and she was a key contributor to HIVE during its critical growth period. I wish her success in her future endeavors.”
