NIP Group swaps 247 million shares for more Bitcoin mining machines

Hicham Chahine, the founder and CEO of NIP Group, explained to Decrypt that he prefers to invest in Bitcoin mining while the market is "cooling," rather than during periods of high competition and heat.

Following this acquisition, the company now possesses approximately 13.85 EH/s of capacity. This level allows them to mine around 195 Bitcoin monthly, equating to $2.8 million based on current prices.

Chahine stated that this new capacity places them among the world's largest publicly listed miners. He noted that this "is real revenue, and it supports everything else we're building."

This latest purchase increases the previous target, which aimed to mine 160 Bitcoin a month, by 35 Bitcoin. The CEO added that the third batch of miners will require "minimal ramp time."

Furthermore, Chahine revealed that the facilities are not locked into mining; they could pivot to support AI computing if the returns prove superior. He clarified, "When those workloads clearly beat mining on returns, consistently and not just for a week or two, that's when we may move capacity."

NIP Group, which operates the esports team Ninjas in Pyjamas, is fundamentally a digital entertainment entity. The firm's stock, NIPG, recently hit an all-time low, dropping 40.7% from $6.74 to $4 since the Bitcoin news last week.

Regarding future use, Chahine mentioned that the underlying infrastructure provides a strong base for compute-heavy AI work, stating, "We're a gaming and entertainment company at heart, and our fans already live on compute, bringing infrastructure and entertainment under one roof makes sense."

Why it matters

This significant investment shows a major esports player is betting heavily on Bitcoin mining during a market cooling period. Investors should watch how this capacity utilization compares to the recent drop in NIPG stock and Bitcoin's price.