Bitcoin Mining Output Declines in February

In early March, mining companies reported their performance for the previous month. ForkLog compiled the key figures in one article.

Marathon Digital Holdings

In February, Marathon Digital Holdings produced 833 BTC — a 23% decrease from the previous month.

According to the press release, the hash rate increased by 9% to 28.7 EH/s. The average operational rate for the past month decreased by 9% to 17.6 EH/s.

“Operational issues that began in January continued into February, leading to a reduction in our operational speed and Bitcoin production,” explained company head Fred Thiel.

According to him, Marathon Digital faced unplanned shutdowns at facilities in Garden City and Ellendale, which collectively account for approximately 43% of the total hash rate. The downtime was due to maintenance of transformers and power lines.

“Largely due to these issues […] we operated at an average of 61% of our total capacity,” added Thiel.

According to the press release, during the last month of winter, the company increased its fleet by 8% to 231,000 devices.

As of February 29, 2024, Marathon held 16,930 BTC. The firm sold 290 BTC and confirmed its intention to sell part of its digital gold assets in the future “to support monthly operations, treasury management, and general corporate purposes.”

The company also presented its report for the 2023 fiscal year. The hash rate increased from 7 EH/s in 2022 to 24.7 EH/s. Bitcoin production rose by 210%, from 4144 BTC to a record 12,852 BTC.

Marathon’s net profit was $261.2 million, with revenue reaching $387.5 million (+229%). To cover operating expenses, the company sold 74% of the total bitcoins mined in 2023.

“In 2024, we plan to increase our hash rate to approximately 35-37 EH/s. By the end of 2025, we aim to reach 50 EH/s, roughly double the current capacity,” noted Thiel.

Earlier, Marathon Digital made global expansion part of its strategy and considered entering the African market. At the end of February, the firm introduced the Anduro second-layer multichain platform for the first cryptocurrency’s blockchain.

Argo Blockchain

In the second month of the year, Argo Blockchain generated 92 BTC (3.2 BTC per day). This figure is 21% lower than January’s, which the company attributed to shutdowns for maintenance at the Cottonwood substation.

“The total downtime […] amounted to approximately 77 hours or 11% of the month. […] Additionally, Bitcoin production in February was affected by a 5% increase in mining difficulty compared to the previous month,” the press release states.

Revenue amounted to $4.5 million — 15% less than in January. As of February 29, the company held 14 BTC.

Argo Blockchain also announced the sale of its data center in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada. The deal amounted to $6.1 million. The proceeds will be used to pay off the mortgage on the facility, with the remaining funds going towards settling debt with Galaxy Digital Holdings.

Riot Platforms

Last month, Riot Platforms mined 418 BTC. This is 20% lower than January and 38% lower than February 2023.

The company holds 8067 BTC. As of the end of the month, the hash rate is estimated at 12.4 EH/s.

CEO Jason Les recalled the purchase of 31,500 miners from MicroBT, which will be installed at the Rockdale facility in Texas. The hash rate is expected to increase to 15.1 EH/s.

For 2023, Riot Platforms produced 6626 BTC, with total revenue of $280.7 million. The company received $71 million in credits [under the demand response program], according to the financial report.

Productivity increased by 28% to 12.4 EH/s, compared to 9.7 EH/s at the end of 2022.

The company also noted that the ongoing chip shortage and the need to increase the hash rate could negatively impact its financial condition.

In February, Riot and the industry group Texas Blockchain Council filed a lawsuit to stop data collection by authorities. Previously, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration announced a survey to assess miners’ energy consumption.

HIVE Blockchain

HIVE Blockchain Technologies produced 200 BTC in February (an average of 6.9 BTC per day). By the end of the month, the mining company held 2131 BTC — 10% more than in January.

The hash rate was 4.2 EH/s, including the capacity of the GPU fleet. This figure was 9% higher than in the previous period.

“This continued growth aligns with the company’s strategy of striving for HODL, anticipating increased demand for Bitcoin as an alternative asset class, as evidenced by the overwhelming inflow of funds into the recent launch of a Bitcoin ETF,” the press release states.

Earlier, CoinShares analysts concluded that demand for exchange-traded funds based on the first cryptocurrency exceeds its production threefold.

Bitfarms

In February, Bitfarms mined 300 BTC compared to 357 BTC in January (-16%). By the end of the month, the hash rate was 6.5 EH/s — 38% more than a year earlier.

“As a key component of our growth, we are successfully managing our transformational fleet upgrade and our goal to reach 21 EH/s by the end of 2024. We plan for the upcoming deliveries of higher-performance Bitman T21 miners to begin operating at facilities in Quebec in March. Based on the installation schedule, we expect an immediate hash rate increase of 8% to 7 EH/s,” stated Bitfarms President Jeff Murphy.

The company sold all the coins mined during the month, receiving $15.1 million. The number of bitcoins held is 804 (approximately $50.7 million as of February 29).

Bitfarms reduced its total outstanding debt by $2 million, eliminating all debt.

Hut 8 Mining

In February, Hut 8 Mining mined 292 BTC compared to 339 BTC in January. By the end of the month, the firm held 9110 BTC.

The total hash rate under management was 27 EH/s.

“We have made great progress in building our new 63 MW self-mining site in Culberson County, Texas, as well as the 240 MW Ionic Digital site in Ward County, Texas. We also announced a new treasury strategy that will allow us to leverage our package for strategic business development,” noted the firm’s president Asher Genut.

The miner announced the start of construction of a Bitcoin mining facility in Culberson with an expected hash rate of 3.6 EH/s at the end of February. Hut 8 expects the cost of mining Bitcoin at the new data center to be approximately 30% less than at the firm’s existing facilities in Granbury, Texas, and Kearney, Nebraska.

Bit Digital

Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital mined 128.7 BTC in February — 11.7% less than the previous period.

As of the end of the month, the firm’s hash rate was approximately 2.73 EH/s.

Treasury reserves in the first and second cryptocurrencies were valued at 847.7 BTC and 15,593.1 ETH, with a fair market value of approximately $51.9 million and $52.1 million respectively (as of February 29). The company’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $34.3 million.

Stock performance of mining companies over the past five days:

• Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA): -31.1%;
• Argo Blockchain (ARBK): -30.08%;
• Riot Blockchain (RIOT): -29.76%;
• Hut 8 Corp. (HUT): -24.12%;
• HIVE Blockchain (HIVE): -24.28%;
• Bitfarms (BITF): -33.78%;
• Bit Digital (BTBT): -26.92%.

Earlier, Bernstein analysts predicted a rise in Bitcoin miners’ stocks ahead of the halving. They particularly noted Riot Platforms and CleanSpark. However, amid the rise of the first cryptocurrency above $64,000, the main sector players’ stocks lost more than 20%.

In February, CryptoQuant experts recorded a decline in digital gold reserves held by miners to July 2021 levels.