In December, Marathon Digital Holdings achieved a milestone by mining a record-breaking 1,853 Bitcoins, marking its highest monthly output in Bitcoin mining to date.
The company reported that it successfully mined a total of 12,852 Bitcoins throughout the previous year, equivalent to over $563.4 million, showcasing a significant surge from the 4,144 Bitcoins mined in 2022. Additionally, Marathon notably boosted its average operational hash rate by an impressive 18% per month, reaching 22.4 EH/s.
Marathon's Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, disclosed that the company expanded its active hash rate by 4% to reach 24.7 exahash, solidifying its position as the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner in North America.
The press release emphasized the vital role played by substantial transaction fees in driving the heightened Bitcoin production in December, surpassing the typical growth rate of the average operational hash rate. During the month, MaraPool received more than 380 BTC in transaction fees, accounting for 22% of the asset’s production, a substantial increase from the prior month's 12%.
Thiel highlighted the competitive advantage stemming from Marathon's vertically integrated technology stack, enabling the capture of significant transaction fees through the ownership and management of its pool of funds. Additionally, Thiel mentioned the imminent closure of acquisitions of facilities in Granbury, Texas, and Kearney, Nebraska, in January 2024, anticipating an improvement in their cost structure and enhancing near-term growth potential.
The executive outlined Marathon's objective to achieve a 30% growth in active hash rate throughout 2024, spotlighting the strategic acquisition of two sites from Generate Capital. Thiel also underlined the significance of this acquisition, expecting Marathon to reach a milestone hash rate of 50 exahash within the next 18 to 24 months.
Marathon's focus extends beyond the United States to Abu Dhabi, where it currently has 2.7 exahash operating. This includes more than 13,000 operating rigs at the company's larger facility in Masdar City, with plans to have the remaining 4.4 exahash operational by January 2024.
