Hut 8 increased its hashrate by 79% during the first quarter of the year.

Cryptocurrency mining firm Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT) saw its hashrate increase by 79% during the first quarter of the year, according to the company's latest earnings report.

Despite revenue of $21.8 million, Hut8 reported a net loss of $134.3 million. The company’s CEO, Asher Benhagav, explained that this was a result of large-scale investments.

“As reflected in our results, the first quarter was a deliberate and necessary phase of investment as we executed on a significant build-out of our operations in preparation for the next stage of growth,” Benhagav said.

“We believe the returns on this work will become increasingly visible in the quarters ahead.”

As of March 31, Hut 8’s operations reached a total energy capacity of 1,020 megawatts, enough to power well over 800,000 average homes in the United States. The company also has the right to scale up its operation by another 2,600 MW.

See Also: How Much Energy Does Bitcoin Mining Really Use?

Hashrate up 79%

The financial results follow large-scale investments by Hut 8, which included upgrading the company’s application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) fleet and launching the majority-owned subsidiary of Hut 8, American Bitcoin.

American Bitcoin was announced at the end of March, with several members of the US President Donald Trump’s family as partners. The new venture "aims to become the world's largest, most efficient pure-play Bitcoin miner while building a robust strategic Bitcoin reserve."

Also, in early April, reports surfaced that American Bitcoin has plans to raise additional capital, which may include an initial public offering.

In today’s quarterly earnings announcement, Benhagav stated: “We are now advancing the final stages of permitting and interconnection for the Vega data center in northern New York, which will be the largest and most efficient Bitcoin mining facility in the world upon launch. We are also preparing the initial sitework for the River Bend data center in a low-cost and high-energy region in the mid-Atlantic.”

Talking about future plans, Benhagav noted that the company is pushing ahead with its plans for 2025. Those include the energization of the Vega data center, the initial sitework at the River Bend data center and the development of the company’s utility-scale power portfolio.

“With these initiatives in full swing, we are well-positioned to unlock substantial value for our shareholders in the year ahead,” the CEO added.

Hut 8 stock is trading at $12.66 after seeing a 2.2% increase on the trading day on the Nasdaq. However, it is down by over 38% from $20.49 at the start of the year.

The announcement follows Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CSCI) posting a net profit of $580 million in its first quarter results, missed analyst revenue estimates after a drop in its mining profits.