Marathon Digital marked a remarkable milestone in September, producing an astounding 1,242 Bitcoin, accounting for an unprecedented 4.3% share of the Bitcoin miner rewards pie.
In the same month, Bitcoin mining juggernauts, including Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark, showcased robust growth in their Bitcoin production figures. This surge translated into a slight uptick in their respective share prices on the 4th of October.
Remarkably, despite Bitcoin’s price meandering within the range of $25,100 to $28,500, the balance sheets of these firms have grown stronger.
Marathon Digital’s Bitcoin production achieved a staggering 245% surge, reaching a total of 1,242 BTC for the month of September. This marks a noteworthy 16% increase compared to August and an astronomical 245% leap compared to September 2022.
The meteoric rise in BTC production can be attributed to an astounding 508% upswing in the firm’s installed hashrate. In September 2022, it stood at a modest 3.8 exahashes per second (EH/s). However, in September 2023, it skyrocketed to an impressive 23.1 EH/s, as per Marathon’s September results report.
In a statement released on October 4th, Marathon’s CEO, Fred Thiel, expressed satisfaction in achieving their target of 23 exahashes in installed capacity. He also hinted at exploring new mining locations that offer cost-effective renewable energy sources: “We are currently evaluating multiple opportunities to expand our hash rate capacity by 5 exahashes, including international sites with access to low-cost renewable energy.”
Marathon proudly boasts an impressive year-to-date production figure of 8,610 BTC for the year 2023. Their balance sheet reveals holdings of 13,726 unrestricted BTC and $101 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, amounting to a substantial $471.2 million in total assets.
Furthermore, the market responded favorably, with Marathon’s share price climbing by 3.29% to reach $7.54 on October 4th, as reported by Google Finance.
Riot Platforms also joined the league of Bitcoin production growth, witnessing a 9% month-on-month increase, with 362 BTC mined in September. This accomplishment is even more impressive considering the strategic adjustments made to their mining operations.
The firm operates under a long-term contract, wherein it supplies pre-purchased power to its utility provider at market-driven spot prices in exchange for power curtailment credits. Riot Platforms CEO, Jason Les, hailed this contract as a robust revenue source, stating, “Through strategic adjustments in our mining operations, we secured $11.0 million in Power Credits from our long-term power contracts with the utility provider, and an additional $2.5 million in Demand Response Credits through participation in ERCOT’s ancillary services program.”
The results demonstrate that Riot garnered more revenue from power curtailment credits than from its Bitcoin sales in both August and September.
Jason Les also disclosed that Riot’s self-mining hash rate capacity currently stands at 12.5 EH/s, with plans to bolster it to 20.1 EH/s by mid-2024 by installing an additional 33,000 next-generation Bitcoin miners.
Notably, Riot’s share price experienced a 3.25% uptick, reaching $9.06 on October 4th, according to data from Google Finance.
Shifting our focus to CleanSpark, the Bitcoin miner displayed remarkable performance in September, generating 643 BTC. Over the fiscal year spanning from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, CleanSpark’s cumulative Bitcoin production soared to an impressive 6,903 BTC. This achievement was hailed as the company’s most outstanding performance to date by CleanSpark’s CEO and President, Zach Bradford, who exclaimed, “We achieved our best quarter and our most exceptional fiscal year ever,” in a statement released on October 3rd.
Bradford attributed this success to heightened efficiency, cost-effective energy utilization, and optimal utilization of their facilities.
CleanSpark’s share price also saw an uptick, surging by 4.61% to reach $3.63 on October 4th, as reported by Google Finance.
On a slightly different note, Bit Digital, which released its results on October 4th, was among the few firms that witnessed a decline in Bitcoin production during September, with figures falling by 7% to 130.2 BTC.
In a statement issued on October 4th, the firm attributed this decline to approximately 600 petahashes per second of miners going offline due to a power utility-mandated maintenance outage on September 26th.
