Mr. Frank Holmes reports

HIVE BLOCKCHAIN ANNOUNCES GROWTH PLAN TO 6 EH/S, CORPORATE UPDATES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AT-THE-MARKET EQUITY PROGRAM

Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. has updated its growth target to six exahashes per second (all amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated).

Hive's near-term target is four exahashes for calendar second quarter 2023 through the secured orders of 1.26 exahashes of new-generation bitcoin mining ASICs to increase its target hash rate by 33 per cent. Hive's management team has been carefully evaluating ASIC purchase opportunities, deploying capital for orders that would allow for optimum cash flow return on invested capital, while also introducing more efficient machines to its global fleet.

Immediate growth overview:

• Over 1.26 exahashes of new-generation bitcoin ASIC miners at very attractive dollar-per-terahash prices:
  • Purchased 3,600 Bitmain S19j Pro+ miners for a total of 439 petahashes per second;
  • Purchased 1,169 Bitmain S19j Pro miners for a total of 117 PH/s;
  • Purchased 1,100 Bitmain S19 XP miners for a total of 154 PH/s;
  • Launched production of 5,000 BuzzMiner Plus units, for a total of 550 to 650 PH/s.

Strategic insight

Hive has utilized and continues to optimize its hybrid strategy for expansion, opportunistically sell bitcoin when it is accretive to do so or issue shares to expand its bitcoin hodl position. Hive's approach to maximize cash flow return on invested capital has allowed it to minimize shareholder dilution, while also keeping a strong bitcoin hodl balance.

The company notes that other publicly traded bitcoin miners may only issue shares to finance their business and expansions to hodl all their bitcoin whereas other miners may sell all their bitcoin hodl to finance their business or expansions.

Appointment of Luke Rossy to vice-president of operations

Hive is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Rossy to the position of vice-president of operations. He has been with Hive for the last two years as its senior developer and operations manager, where he has been a tremendous resource and eager to learn.

He has demonstrated an aptitude for problem solving in the technical realm, alongside his expert level analysis skills. By expanding his horizons and taking on more executive level tasks, the company is excited to see him grow with the company.

Aydin Kilic, chief executive officer of Hive, stated: "I have worked very closely with Luke for the last two years. He has been an exceptional team member, with incredible focus and a tireless work ethic. I believe he will make a great executive, and as we have a lean management team at Hive, his diverse skill set helps us navigate day-to-day hurdles as we strive for excellence."

At-the-market financing to fast track growth strategy and build hodl position

The company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into an equity distribution with Stifel GMP and Canaccord Genuity Corp. to establish an at-the-market offering of common shares in the capital of the company on the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Frank Holmes, executive chairman of Hive, commented: "I am thrilled this is the first time two large independent brokers in Canada are in partnership with us on an ATM financing. This financing will allow us to grow our bitcoin hodl and exahash mining capacity."

The company estimates that with each additional 30 megawatts of infrastructure, utilizing ASICs with an efficiency of 30 joules per terahash, it will be able to add one exahash of bitcoin mining capacity, at an approximate cost of $30-million. Therefore, with the right opportunities, proceeds from the ATM financing could potentially allow the company to add an additional three exahashes to its operating footprint, including infrastructure and ASICs. This would represent approximately 100-per-cent growth to the company's current ASIC operating capacity of 3.15 exahashes to achieve its growth target of six exahashes.

By introducing machines with better joule-per-terahash efficiency, while also procuring these machines at attractive dollar-per-terahash price, Hive strives to optimize near-term repayment of its investments from cash flow operating these machines. Furthermore, it analyzes possible scenarios where mining revenues may drop in the time periods surrounding the halving event, and thus, it strives to ensure that the machines it purchases will have positive gross mining margins for as long as possible after the initial investment has been paid off. Therefore, an optimal balance between joule-per-terahash efficiency realized and dollar-per-terahash price paid must be sought. Its goal is that these investments become free cash flow generating assets to get the best cash flow return on invested capital as a publicly traded bitcoin miner.

Pursuant to the equity distribution agreement, the company may, from time to time, sell up to $100-million of common shares. The company intends to use the net proceeds of the ATM equity program, if any, principally for general corporate and working capital requirements, for financing continuing operations, to repay indebtedness outstanding from time to time, to complete future acquisitions, or for other corporate purposes.

The common shares will be distributed at trading prices prevailing at the time of the sale, and prices may vary between purchasers and during the period of distribution. The volume and timing of sales, if any, will be determined at the sole discretion of the company's management and in accordance with the terms of the equity distribution agreement. To date, no common shares have been distributed by the company pursuant to the equity distribution agreement. Sales of common shares, if any, under the ATM equity program, are anticipated to be made in transactions that are deemed to be at-the-market distributions as defined in National Instrument 44-102 (Shelf Distributions), as sales made directly on the TSX Venture Exchange or any other recognized Canadian marketplace within the meaning of National Instrument 21-101 (Marketplace Operation). The ATM equity program is being made pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated May 10, 2023, to the company's short form base shelf prospectus dated May 1, 2023, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada.

The prospectus supplement (as well as the related base shelf prospectus) is available at the company's profile on the SEDAR website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators.

About Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd.

Hive went public in 2017 as the first cryptocurrency mining company listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange with a green energy focus.

Hive is a growth-oriented technology stock in the emergent blockchain industry. As a company whose shares trade on a major stock exchange, it is building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. Hive owns state-of-the-art, green-energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden and Iceland, where it endeavours to source green energy to mine digital assets such as bitcoin on the cloud. Since the beginning of 2021, Hive has held in secure storage the majority of its treasury of ETH and BTC derived from mining rewards. Its shares provide investors with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of bitcoin. Because Hive also owns hard assets such as data centres and advanced multiuse servers, it believes its shares offer investors an attractive way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space.

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