HIVE Digital Technologies posted preliminary second-quarter revenue of about $79 million, but the headline number sits alongside an $80 million Swedish tax assessment that could wipe out the quarter's gains and then some. The Vancouver-based miner disclosed the contingency in its latest filing, noting it cannot yet quantify the noncash accrual or expected losses from a dispute that has been building since 2020.
The Swedish Tax Agency argues HIVE's Boden facility should have paid energy taxes on electricity consumed for bitcoin mining dating back four years. HIVE maintains its operations qualify for industrial exemptions, but the authority's position would retroactively impose levies on every megawatt-hour drawn since the site powered up. The gap between revenue and potential liability is effectively one-to-one: $79 million in quarterly sales versus $80 million in contested taxes.
Hashrate keeps climbing
Production metrics show no slowdown. HIVE's operating hashrate hit 5.6 exahashes per second in June, up from 4.9 EH/s in March. The company mined 665 bitcoin in the quarter, averaging 7.3 bitcoin per day across its facilities in Sweden, Canada, and Iceland. Boden alone contributed roughly 40% of total output, making the Swedish site the single largest piece of the revenue puzzle.
| Metric | Q1 2024 | Q2 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (prelim) | $68M | $79M |
| Bitcoin mined | 598 | 665 |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. hashrate | 4.9 EH/s | 5.6 EH/s |
| BTC held | 2,712 | 2,784 |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish tax exposure | $72M | $80M |
Energy costs at Boden run roughly $0.04 per kilowatt-hour under long-term hydro contracts, among the lowest in the portfolio. If the tax assessment stands, the effective power price could double, flipping the site from a margin leader to a drag on consolidated economics. HIVE has not guided on whether it would curtail operations at Boden pending resolution.
The halving math got tighter
April's block reward halving cut miner revenue per terahash in half. HIVE's gross margin compressed to approximately 38% in Q1 from 45% a year earlier, per prior filings. The Swedish tax dispute adds a sovereign-risk layer to the post-halving squeeze that no efficiency gain can offset. Peer miners Marathon and Riot have diversified geographic exposure; HIVE's concentration in Sweden makes the outcome here disproportionately material.
What happens next
The Swedish Administrative Court has not set a hearing date. HIVE says it will "vigorously contest" the assessment but acknowledges the timeline is outside its control. A ruling against the company would trigger an immediate noncash charge, potentially pushing the balance sheet into negative equity depending on bitcoin's price at the time of accrual. The 2,784 bitcoin held — worth roughly $177 million at $63,447 — provides a buffer, but only if the asset doesn't decline further while the case drags on.
Watch the September filing for the first quantified provision. That number, not the preliminary revenue, will tell the real story.