James Cirrone

Bitcoin is feeling the dog days of summer like the rest of us. In the last thirty days, the world’s largest digital asset has receded 5.5%, per CoinGecko <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin">data</a>.



But publicly bitcoin miners are pushing through, with two of them seeing modest hashing power gains in July and another two staying flat.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/marathon-digital">Marathon Digital</a>’s operational hash rate ticked up 6.2% from June’s 17.7 exahashes per second (EH/s) to July’s 18.8 EH/s.&nbsp;



The company also mined 1,176 bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc">BTC</a>), a 20% jump from June and an over 15-fold increase from the same time last year.&nbsp;



CEO Fred Thiel attributed the gains to the completion of the company’s facility in Ellendale, North Dakota, which he said now has six fully operational buildings.&nbsp;



“Ellendale adds a total of 7.6 exahashes to our energized hash rate. The facility in Garden City, Texas is expected to come online next. Tie in work has been completed at this site, and we believe energization is likely imminent,” Thiel said in a <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/08/03/2717834/0/en/Marathon-Digital-Holdings-Announces-Bitcoin-Production-and-Mining-Operation-Updates-for-July-2023.html">statement</a>.&nbsp;



CleanSpark saw the largest gain in operational hash rate among its peers so far, upping its efficiency by over 13% in a one-month period, according to a <a href="https://www.cleanspark.com/investor-relations/news-releases#collapsePost259">press release</a>.



<a href="https://www.cleanspark.com/investor-relations/news-releases#collapsePost256">In June</a>, the company had a deployed fleet of over 68,000 miners boasting processing speeds of 6.7 EH/s. By July, the number of miners jumped to nearly 88,000 with average speeds of 7.6 EH/s.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/riot-blockchain">Riot Platforms</a> and Bitfarms’ hashing power remained flat month over month, 10.7 EH/s and 5.3 EH/s, respectively.



Riot mined 11% fewer bitcoin — 410 BTC — compared to June, though it&#8217;s important to note that over 17,000 miners remain offline in its Texas location after a severe winter storm tore through the area in December 2022.



Riot sold 400 bitcoin in July, same as June, but pocketed larger proceeds of $12.1 million due to a net price of $30,293 per bitcoin sold, according to its monthly <a href="https://www.riotplatforms.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/157/riot-announces-july-2023-production-and-operations-updates">report</a>.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitfarms">Bitfarms</a> also produced slightly fewer bitcoin, mining 378 BTC in July and 385 BTC in June. However, last month’s haul is over 24% down from July 2022.&nbsp;



Still, Bitfarms has outpaced the first seven months of 2022 in terms of total bitcoin mined, per its July <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/08/01/2715649/0/en/Bitfarms-Mines-378-BTC-in-July.html">report</a>.



Bitfarms also increased its hydropower capabilities from 178 megawatts (MW) to 183 megawatts, which in part stems from <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitfarms-doubles-down-on-paraguay">its freshly-signed power agreements in Paraguay</a> to power its mining facilities.&nbsp;



In the stock market, Marathon is outperforming its peers, up 2.18% on Thursday at the time of publication. Riot returned to the green in the afternoon, while CleanSpark and Bitfarms were in the red.



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Handful of public bitcoin miners log modest hashing power gains for July

Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms is continuing its hydropower bent.



In the latest instance of the publicly traded Bitfarms turning to hydroelectric power to run mining rigs, the company has landed a number of contracts in Paraguay to boost its presence in the country. The agreements, Bitfarms said Monday, will result in new mining operations.&nbsp;



In all, a projected 150 megawatts of hydroelectric power will come from dams, with Bitfarms negotiating two purchasing agreements. Bitfarms in 2021 acquired a hydropower plant in Washington and has continued to double down on that approach.&nbsp;



About 50 megawatts will power the existing location in the southern city of Villarrica. Bitfarms said it will commence construction on a second mining facility and a substation in Villarrica in the third quarter.



The remaining 100 megawatts will come from the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world, Itaipu, and will power another forthcoming mining operation in Yguazu. That mining farm has no current timeline for completing construction, according to a <a href="https://investor.bitfarms.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/201/bitfarms-secures-contracts-in-paraguay-for-up-to-150-mw-of">statement</a>.



Bitfarms CEO Geoff Morphy said the upcoming bitcoin halving has resulted in a focus on growth potential in the short term. The event, which is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-halving-a-year-out">expected to have an industry-wide impact on cryptocurrencies</a>, should take place around mid-April 2024.&nbsp;



“We are seeking to drive growth by leveraging our farm design expertise and drawing upon our operational experience to broaden our geographical presence and optimize global, underutilized power resources,” Morphy said in a statement.&nbsp;



“Paraguay has access to an abundance of surplus renewable power, and these acquisitions secure valuable, yet limited, sustainable energy contracts,” he said.



The halving, as well as the price of bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc">BTC</a>) calculated against power costs, has a demonstrable effect on the profitability miners can expect.



For example, a little less than two weeks after the FTX collapse, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-price-drop-tests-miners-diamond-hands">bitcoin was down over 60% from the beginning of the year</a> to around $16,300. Over that same period, electricity prices were up around 13%. This tested miners’ ability to stay afloat, especially smaller operators. 



But in January 2023, bitcoin was hovering in the $23,000 range. At that time, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-price-boosts-miners-as-hashrate-climbs">the global hash rate was hitting all-time highs</a> — and mining stocks were in the green.



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Bitfarms doubles down on Paraguay, secures additional hydropower to buoy mining rigs

Ben Strack

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A range of bitcoin miners are set to report third quarter results in the coming days as several companies in the mining sector are struggling to cope with financial pressures. 



Marathon Digital, Stronghold Digital Mining and Hut 8 Mining are among the companies in the space set to host earnings calls this week.&nbsp;



While analysts are not necessarily expecting big pronouncements of bankruptcies or acquisitions during industry players’ upcoming calls, they will be listening for how mining executives intend to navigate the current environment.



“I’m always listening for cues on expectations — company-specific and industry-specific — and specific companies’ moves to address their expectations,” Kevin Dede, senior technology analyst at HC Wainwright &amp; Co. told Blockworks.



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-miner-consolidation-imminent-as-some-industry-players-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Industry watchers told Blockworks</a> earlier this month that miner consolidation is imminent, as some of the larger miners in the space could look to scoop up struggling companies and their assets. 



But Lucas Pipes, managing director at B. Riley Securities, said miners in a solid financial situation are still likely to take a wait-and-see approach.&nbsp;



“They want to make sure they’re all secured and shored up and build that treasure chest to the extent they can,” he said. “Are you going to have exceptions to this rule? Yeah, you might.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Keeping bitcoin mining rigs humming during crypto winter </h3>



Core Scientific revealed in <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001839341/5d07f815-c426-4db9-b79a-a38d616cf35a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filings</a> last month <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/core-scientific-stock-price-plummets-70-as-it-considers-bankruptcy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it was considering bankruptcy</a>, and Argo Blockchain followed by saying a potential capital injection of $27 million it was expecting <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-miner-consolidation-imminent-as-some-industry-players-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">had fallen through</a>. 



“The space is distressed,” Pipes said. “There’s no other way of putting it.”&nbsp;



Dede added that as it becomes harder to raise money in public markets, miners are being forced to purge assets.&nbsp;



Core Scientific said Monday that it sold 2,285 bitcoins at an average price of $19,639, as proceeds totaled roughly $45 million. The company held 62 BTC and about $32 million in cash, as of Oct. 31.



Core Scientific and Argo Blockchain have not yet listed earnings call dates.&nbsp;



Iris Energy is <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitcoin-miner-iris-energy-says-its-bad-debt-contained-in-rotten-arms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">also in financial distress</a>. The Australia-based bitcoin miner said in an SEC filing last week that it can generate $2 million in monthly gross profit by mining bitcoin, while monthly principal and interest repayments on its debt stands at $7 million.



Bom Shin, vice president of corporate finance at Iris Energy, told Blockworks last week that the company’s debt is structured within a number of special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which had a market value worth about 35% less than its principal loans outstanding as of September’s end.



The company was engaged in ongoing discussions with its unnamed lender, Shin added.



Iris Energy said that if it is unable to restructure the loans, two of its SPVs would have to default on the loans, which would likely result in the lenders foreclosing on the mining rig collateral, according to a Nov. 3 research note by Compass Point Research and Research analysts Chase White and Joe Flynn.



The analysts added that while Iris Energy’s stock price dropped following the news — and that the company may have a hard time getting equipment-backed financing in the future — they believe the company will be in a better financial situation after its negotiations with its lenders.



“We believe the market misunderstands the implications of the situation, which we see as a potentially significant positive for [Iris] that will allow it to continue to operate without the burden of expensive debt,” White and Flynn said.&nbsp;



In addition to the more recent struggles in the space, crypto mining data center operator <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/compute-norths-business-goes-south/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Compute North filed for bankruptcy</a> in Texas in September.



Dede said he expects it will take a bit more pressure before more bankruptcies and consolidation take shape.



“You can expect to see some suffering for a while, I think,” he added. “I’m in no position to say how long this bear market lasts, but people who are running these companies should position themselves to endure a lengthy one.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The space’s potential acquirers could wait to buy&nbsp;</h3>



Marathon Digital posted <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-miner-marathon-digital-posts-192m-net-loss-in-q2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a net loss of $192 million</a> during the second quarter and is set to report its third quarter earnings on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET. 



The company said on Nov. 2 that it added about 32,000 miners last month to raise its hashrate to roughly 7 exahashes per second (EH/s). It also produced a record 615 bitcoins in October, increasing its total holdings to 11,285 BTC.



Marathon seeks to hit roughly 13 EH/s by the end of 2022 and 23 EH/s by mid-2023, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel told Blockworks.



Thiel said last month that Marathon would keep an eye on cheap assets from struggling miners. He noted that the company could look to purchase a hosting site, for example, if such a buy made strategic sense.



Riot Blockchain is another company that has expressed interest in acquisitions, as CEO Jason Les called his firm <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/riot-blockchain-ceo-firm-is-one-of-mining-spaces-best-positioned-acquirers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one of the segment’s “best-positioned acquirers.”</a>



The company produced 509 bitcoins in October and held 6,825 BTC, as of Oct. 31. It seeks to reach 12.5 EH/s during the first quarter of 2023. Riot has a special meeting of stockholders set for Nov. 17.



Frank Holmes, executive chair of HIVE Blockchain Technologies, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ex-eth-miner-hive-blockchain-eyes-buying-opportunities-post-merge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks</a> in September that his firm would be evaluating buys of equipment, and potentially mining firms, over the next six months. 



Cleanspark said on Nov. 1 that it acquired 3,843 units of Antminer S19J Pro bitcoin mining machines for $5.9 million. The machines appeared to have come from Argo Blockchain, which reported selling the same number of S19J Pro units last week.&nbsp;



Pipes said though he believes “we’re getting close” to seeing more mergers and acquisitions in the space, there are often relatively few operational synergies to take advantage of.&nbsp;



He added that Riot is likely in the best financial situation of any miner, while Marathon is also in a position to take advantage of opportunities. But, he noted, those companies may want to focus on their ambitious hashrate targets.



“I think it’s first things first — execute on the existing growth plan before you take precious capital to add in more growth that may not be as attractive as what you have planned for anyways” Pipes said.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other miners to keep an eye on</h3>



After Marathon’s earnings call on Tuesday, Stronghold Mining and Hut 8 Mining are scheduled to host their own on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. ET and Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET, respectively.&nbsp;



Canada-based miner Bitfarms is set to report its third quarter results on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. ET



Stronghold said last week that it eliminated all outstanding principal — totaling about $67 million — under its equipment financing agreements with NYDIG and The Provident Bank.&nbsp;



Stronghold CEO Greg Beard said in a statement that the company was rapidly deleveraging its balance sheet and enhancing liquidity to pursue acquisitions of bitcoin miners at attractive prices. Stronghold had roughly $30 million of liquidity in cash and bitcoin, as of Nov. 1.



Meanwhile, Hut 8 Mining produced 299 bitcoins in October to raise its holdings total to 8,687 BTC. Its installed hashrate capacity was 3.07 EH/s at the end of the month.



Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton said during Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in September that acquisitions are not necessarily the best thing in the current market environment, as the company can buy new machines at attractive prices.



Bitfarms, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-miner-bitfarms-sells-half-its-bitcoin-to-reduce-debt-boost-liquidity/">which resorted to selling bitcoin</a> earlier this year, mined 486 BTC in October and sold all of it.



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What To Expect on Miners’ Q3 Earnings Calls As Industry Remains ‘Distressed’

Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_62b2e008b083e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Bitfarms’ current bitcoin holdings stand at 3,349 BTC, down from more than 6,000 BTC in May</li>
 <li>The firm used some of the cash to pay off bitcoin-backed loans from Galaxy Digital</li>
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Bitfarms has ditched its “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hodl.asp#:~:text=HODL%20is%20a%20term%20derived,post%20to%20the%20Bitcointalk%20forum." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hodling</a>” strategy and begun selling its mined bitcoin (BTC) to pay off loans and shore up its balance sheet.



The Toronto-based cryptocurrency miner sold 3,000 BTC ($62 million) in the past week, it <a href="https://bitfarms.com/app/uploads/2022/06/Bitfarms-PR-22-06-22-BTC-Sale-v4-Clean-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> on Tuesday. Bitfarms is “no longer HODLing all our daily BTC production,” Jeff Lucas, the miner’s CFO, said.



“We believe that selling a portion of our BTC holdings and daily production as a source of liquidity is the best and least expensive method in the current market environment,” he added.



Since May, Bitfarms’ BTC holdings have shrunk by almost half to 3,349 BTC ($67.5 million). The firm is currently mining around 14 BTC ($282,000) per day over the month to date.&nbsp;



Bitfarms said it used some of those proceeds to reduce its bitcoin-backed credit facility with digital asset bank Galaxy Digital by 42%, now down to $38 million.



Indeed, selling bitcoin to cover expenses is becoming par for the course for cryptocurrency miners, especially those who had <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crashing-prices-expose-bitcoin-mining-industrys-addiction-to-leverage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taken out loans</a> to fund their rapid expansion over the past year.



Bitfarms’ move mirrors competitor Riot Blockchain, which has sold 700 BTC for over $17.5 million since <a href="https://www.riotblockchain.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/126/riot-blockchain-announces-march-2022-production-and" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">March</a>. In May, Marathon Digital’s Chief Financial Officer Hugh Gallagher said it too may <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4507058-marathon-digital-holdings-inc-mara-ceo-fred-thiel-on-q1-2022-results-earnings-call-transcript" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consider</a> selling some of the bitcoin it holds for treasury management or general expenses.



Bitcoin miners also dumped their holdings faster than usual in May, <a href="https://twitter.com/JMellerud/status/1539242413830680576" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to Arcane Research analyst Jaran Mellerud. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Miners have started to dump their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> holdings. Public miners sold more than 100% of their production in May, a massive increase from the usual 25-40%. <a href="https://t.co/KabSWqvL4T">pic.twitter.com/KabSWqvL4T</a>&mdash; Jaran Mellerud (@JMellerud) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMellerud/status/1539242413830680576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Arcane found the top 28 publicly-traded miners sold 4,271 BTC last month, representing a 329% month-on-month jump — and they’re likely to sell more in June, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/bitcoin-miner-bitfarms-sells-coins-after-ending-holding-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a> reported.



Fears of contagion from the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-fund-three-arrows-capital-facing-potential-insolvency-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asset liquidations</a> of Three Arrows Capital have pulled crypto prices lower, with bitcoin reaching lows of $17,600 this week before recovering above $20,000. The bellwether digital asset last traded at $20,400 as of Wednesday morning, according to data from <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/assets/btc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockworks Research</a>, almost 60% below its value at the start of the year.



Crypto mining stocks are generally tightly correlated with bitcoin prices. Share prices for both Riot and Marathon — the two largest public mining companies — have collapsed 80% so far this year while Bitfarms has fallen 73%.



The sense of euphoria that enabled bitcoin’s all-time high of $68,900 in November 2021 is missing right now, said Brian Gould, head of trading at Capital.com.



&nbsp;“Traders in crypto have had to take a cold shower, and building that euphoric momentum to reignite the uptrend will take a lot of energy and influence that we’re not seeing,” he said.



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