Marathon Digital's Bitcoin Production Drops 9% in August Due to Texas Heat

Publicly traded Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings has reported a 9% drop in Bitcoin production for August 2023 compared to the previous month. According to the firm, the decline in production was primarily due to temporary shutdowns of mining operations in Texas, where extreme heat conditions prevailed.

In its unaudited operational updates for August, Marathon revealed that it produced 1,072 Bitcoin during the month, representing a 9% drop from July.

Fred Thiel, Marathon's Chairman and CEO, stated that the decrease was mainly due to "increased curtailment activity in Texas due to record high temperatures," adding that the temporary shutdowns "more than offset the progress we have made to increase our operational hash rate and optimize our operations.”

Despite the month-over-month decline, the firm reported significant growth compared to the previous year. In August 2022, Marathon's average daily production was 5.9 BTC, and it has since surged by 477% to reach 34.3 BTC per day.

Marathon reports operational and installed hashrate growth

Marathon reported a 2% month-over-month increase in its US operational hash rate, which now stands at 19.1 EH/s. This growth, the company said, was achieved through the replacement of older Bitmain S19 J Pro miners with more efficient S19 XPs mining rigs.

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On top of that, Marathon is awaiting the completion of paperwork for its new facility in Garden City, Texas, which is expected to further enhance its operational capabilities.

The company also reached its primary domestic growth target of 23 EH/s for installed hash rate. According to Thiel, Marathon’s total anticipated hash rate—once fully deployed—is now 30 EH/s, l, which includes 2 EH/s planned outside the U.S. and an additional 5 EH/s of contracted capacity.

Marathon's joint venture in Abu Dhabi, which launched earlier this year, contributed 50 Bitcoin to its production in August, with approximately 10 Bitcoin representing Marathon's share. The operational hash rate for this venture has reached 1.5 EH/s, and plans are in place to scale up to 7.0 EH/s by the end of the year.

Last month, Marathon's CEO told Decrypt that the mining firm is also looking into expanding in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

“We believe there are some very interesting opportunities in Africa, Latin America, and in parts of Asia, and over time it will likely be 50/50 between the U.S. and the rest of the world,” Thiel said in an interview with Decrypt.

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As of August 31, 2023, Marathon held a total of 13,286 BTC, with 13,111 BTC being unrestricted, with 750 BTC sold during the month and further plans to sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings.

According to the firm, this is done “to support monthly operations, manage its treasury, and for general corporate purposes.” Additionally, Marathon occasionally uses a portion of its Bitcoin for various treasury activities.

The company concluded the month with $111.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. The combined balance of unrestricted cash and Bitcoin reached $445.5 million, a more than two-fold increase compared to $201.5 million during the same period the previous year.