What happened
Shares of SOS Limited (SOS 5.84%) soared on Monday after the company announced its second shipment of cryptocurrency mining machines has been installed. Considering Bitcoin (BTC +0.06%) hit all-time highs over the weekend, investors are excited about what these new mining rigs can do for the company. As of 11 a.m. EDT today, SOS stock was up 23%.
So what
SOS has been transitioning away from its traditional business of providing lenders with consumer credit data, and toward blockchain and cryptocurrency opportunities. In February, it deployed 5,000 mining rigs for Bitcoin and Ether (ETH +0.02%), the tokens native to the Ethereum blockchain network. Today's announcement doubles this to 10,000 total mining rigs in operation.
Image source: Getty Images.
With today's mining update, SOS also provided investors with a preliminary quarterly update. For the quarter, it expects to mine 41 Bitcoin and 909 Ether tokens. Keep in mind that this projection doesn't include an entire quarter of operational mining rigs. SOS didn't mine its first Bitcoin until Feb. 24, almost two full months into the quarter. Therefore, it's logical to assume SOS could mine far more than this on a quarterly basis.
Ether didn't hit all-time highs over the weekend, but it came close to $2,000. For its part, Bitcoin was hitting all-time highs over $61,000. This mining update from SOS coupled with the strong cryptocurrency market over the weekend is why SOS stock soared this morning.
Now what
The company has deals in place for thousands more mining machines in the coming year, so investors can expect updates like this from time to time. But they should keep their eyes open for more-formal quarterly updates. These will include equally important information like the company's mining expenses, which will better show how well SOS is executing on its new business direction.
