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Riot plummets after missing on Q2 revenue

Riot Platforms reported second-quarter earnings yesterday after the bell, missing on revenue as the company faced increased mining costs.

The stock was down more than 17% in early trading.

The bitcoin mining company reported revenue of $153 million, up from $70 million for the corresponding quarter last year, largely driven by a jump in bitcoin mining revenue. Still, this fell short of analysts' expectations of $156.3 million, according to FactSet. The figure is also down from Q1 revenue of $162.4 million.

It did beat expectations for earnings per share, coming in at $0.65, while analysts had predicted a loss of $0.18.

Riot, the fifth-largest corporate bitcoin holder, produced 1,426 bitcoin in Q2, compared to 844 bitcoin in the second quarter of 2024. The average cost to mine bitcoin jumped to $48,992 in the quarter from $25,329 per bitcoin a year ago.

“The increase was primarily driven by the block subsidy ‘halving’ event, which occurred in April 2024, and a 45% increase in the average global network hash rate as compared to the same period in 2024,” the company said in a press release.

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Justin Sun sues Trump-backed World Liberty over frozen tokens

Crypto billionaire Justin Sun, owner of the world’s most expensive banana, was named an adviser to World Liberty Financial the day after investing $30 million in the project. (He’d later boost that with $45 million more.) Sun has long been a supporter of President Trump, and has not once, but twice topped a competition to amass the most $TRUMP coins. But it seems even for Sun, the gold has turned brass.

Sun announced on social media that he’s filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against the crypto project backed by Trump. 

The lawsuit alleges World Liberty engaged in an “illegal scheme to seize property” and “positioned itself as the new boogeyman” by stripping Sun of his governance rights, threatening to burn his WLFI tokens, and freezing his stash, which at times were worth $1 billion, according to the complaint dated on Tuesday. 

“I have tried in good faith to resolve this situation with the World Liberty project team without resorting to litigation,” Sun wrote in a lengthy X post on Tuesday night. “But the project team has refused my requests to unfreeze my tokens and restore my rights as a token holder. They have left me with no choice but to turn to the courts.”

The complaint also alleged that World Liberty appears to be in financial trouble, citing concerns over whether the project can repay an on-chain loan that was collateralized by using, at the time, $5 billion worth of WLFI. The token reached an all-time low less than two weeks ago.

Despite the escalation with World Liberty, Sun said the lawsuit does not change his feelings about Trump or his administration. “I have always been — and remain — an ardent supporter of President Trump and his Administration’s efforts to make America crypto friendly,” he said. 

The lawsuit alleges World Liberty engaged in an “illegal scheme to seize property” and “positioned itself as the new boogeyman” by stripping Sun of his governance rights, threatening to burn his WLFI tokens, and freezing his stash, which at times were worth $1 billion, according to the complaint dated on Tuesday. 

“I have tried in good faith to resolve this situation with the World Liberty project team without resorting to litigation,” Sun wrote in a lengthy X post on Tuesday night. “But the project team has refused my requests to unfreeze my tokens and restore my rights as a token holder. They have left me with no choice but to turn to the courts.”

The complaint also alleged that World Liberty appears to be in financial trouble, citing concerns over whether the project can repay an on-chain loan that was collateralized by using, at the time, $5 billion worth of WLFI. The token reached an all-time low less than two weeks ago.

Despite the escalation with World Liberty, Sun said the lawsuit does not change his feelings about Trump or his administration. “I have always been — and remain — an ardent supporter of President Trump and his Administration’s efforts to make America crypto friendly,” he said. 

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