Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue, but still posted a loss as mining costs have nearly doubled compared to the same time last year and it moves to bolster its facilities.

“We achieved a new record for quarterly revenue this quarter, at $161.4 million,” Riot CEO Jason Les said in a May 1 report for its first quarter 2025 earnings. The company just surpassed Wall Street estimates of $159.79 million by 1%.

Riot’s Q1 revenue was a 50% jump compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Riot blames “halving event” for expenses

The firm reported a net loss of $296,367 over Q1, a 240% decrease from the $211,777 net income it posted in the year-ago quarter.

Riot said that the average cost to mine Bitcoin (BTC) over the quarter was $43,808, almost 90% more than the $23,034 it cost to mine Bitcoin in the same period last year.

“The increase was primarily driven by the block subsidy ‘halving’ event, which occurred in April 2024, and a 41% increase in the average global network hashrate as compared to the same period in 2024,” Riot said.

Shares in Riot Platforms (RIOT) closed May 1 trading up 7.32%, trading at $7.77, according to Google Finance.

Riot Platforms is down 13.47% over the past six months. Source: Google Finance

Meanwhile, Riot produced 166 more Bitcoin during the quarter than it did over the same period in 2024. At the time of publication, with Bitcoin trading at $97,072, that equates to approximately $16.13 million.

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Riot currently holds 19,223 unencumbered Bitcoin, worth approximately $1.86 billion at the time of publication.

On April 23, Riot announced that it had used its massive Bitcoin stockpile as collateral to secure a $100 million credit facility from Coinbase as the cryptocurrency miner eyes continued expansion. 

Les said the $100 million loan from Coinbase’s credit arm marked Riot’s “first Bitcoin-backed facility.”

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Online discussions about memecoins have hit a year-to-date high, gaining considerable attention after sentiment cooled earlier in the year, according to onchain analytics platform Santiment. 

Two weeks ago, discussions around Bitcoin (BTC) and layer-1 protocols peaked during the market volatility brought on by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. However, that’s since shifted to high market cap memecoins, Santiment marketing director Brian Quinlivan said in a May 1 blog post.

“Online discussions about these high-risk tokens have proliferated as traders embrace a gamble mindset, rather than a calculated investment approach,” he said.

“This is a telltale sign that traders are increasingly investing based solely on speculation and short-term gains,” Quinlivan added.

Online discussions about memecoins have hit a 2025 high, surpassing discussions about Bitcoin. Source: Santiment

Quinlivan said the overall crypto market rose 10% in the past eight days, but Bitcoin only gained 7%, which indicates traders are flocking to more speculative assets.

“Any time Bitcoin leads an initial rally and then begins to move sideways, investors generally start taking bigger risks in hopes of scoring even higher returns through more speculative and riskier purchases,” he said.

Dogecoin discussions spike on ETF news

In particular, Dogecoin (DOGE) has seen a notable spike in positive crowd sentiment after a major decline in crowd interest during April, as various applications for DOGE exchange-traded funds were filed in the US.

Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission delaying its decision on these filings until mid-June, Quinlivan says traders are in a state of cautious anticipation.

“Until late April, DOGE had been on a major decline in terms of crowd interest. But its social dominance has spiked to its highest level in nearly three months, as the conversations and filings surrounding Nasdaq’s ETF listings have risen,” he said.

Dogecoin has seen a notable spike in positive crowd sentiment. Source: Santiment

DefiLlama data shows PumpSwap, the decentralized exchange of the memecoin launch platform Pump.Fun saw a spike to $11 billion in monthly trading volume during April after recording only $1.7 billion in March.

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Meanwhile, Pump.Fun’s monthly trading volume rose to $3.3 billion in April, up from $2.5 billion in March.

Memecoin activity exploded after the launch of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin on Jan. 18, with Pump.fun usage recording a high of $3.3 billion in weekly trading volume.

However, traders soon cooled on memecoins. CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong said in a March 6 report that memecoin investor interest dropped after a series of bad launches, noting the fallout from the Libra (LIBRA) token launch in February as a significant catalyst. 

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The US Treasury Department wants to block the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the US banking system, accusing it of helping North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group to launder its crypto.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for or on behalf of the Huione Group.

Huione Group has established itself as the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” like the Lazarus Group, who have “stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a May 1 statement.

“Today’s proposed action will sever Huione Group’s access to correspondent banking, degrading these groups’ ability to launder their ill-gotten gains.”

Huione Group has set up a network of businesses, which includes payment service platform Huione Pay PLC, the crypto exchange Huione Crypto, and Haowang Guarantee, an online marketplace offering illicit goods and services.

Although the conglomerate doesn’t have correspondent accounts with US financial institutions, it has accounts with foreign firms with US correspondent accounts, the Treasury’s FinCEN noted in its rulemaking submission.

The proposed rule is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it can take effect.

Source: Chainalysis

Huione expanded into sophisticated cybercrime network

FinCEN claimed that Huione Group has laundered at least $4 billion worth of illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, including more than $36 million from crypto pig butchering scams.

At least $37 million worth of the crypto laundered has been linked to North Korea’s “cyber heists,” the Treasury said.

Haowang Guarantee has made Huione Group a “one stop shop” for criminals to launder crypto obtained through illicit activities, and ultimately convert it to fiat currency, the Treasury said.

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The conglomerate has also created a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, the US Dollar Huione (USDH), which FinCEN said cannot be frozen and helps to carry out money laundering activities.

The National Bank of Cambodia has stated that payment firms aren’t allowed to deal or trade digital assets in the country and had revoked the company’s local banking license in March.

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