Two of the largest public Bitcoin miners, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, have achieved their highest monthly Bitcoin production since the April halving event. This is a significant milestone considering the challenges faced by the industry, including rising mining difficulty.
Marathon Digital announced on Nov. 4 that it had increased its Bitcoin production by 2% to 717 BTC in October, marking its strongest monthly production since the halving event. Despite a slight decline in block wins due to network difficulty, Marathon was able to achieve this milestone.
Marathon’s Bitcoin Production
Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, attributed the increase in BTC production to higher transaction fees in October. These fees accounted for approximately 5% of the total BTC mined by the company. Thiel highlighted two large transactions that generated significant fees, showcasing the potential of Marathon’s proprietary mining technology to capture additional revenue.
“We believe that our proprietary technology platforms such as Slipstream and MARAPool, our proprietary mining pool, allow us to capture all potential benefits and take advantage of higher transaction fees as they arise.”
In addition to the increase in BTC production, Marathon’s active hashrate also saw a significant boost, reaching 40.2 exahashes per second (EH/s), a 14% increase from September. Thiel mentioned that the company is on track to reach its 50 EH/s target by the end of the year through the installation of new miners, infrastructure upgrades, and energizing additional immersion containers. As of Oct. 31, Marathon held 27,562 BTC, including 4,499 restricted coins, with an average daily production of 23.1 BTC throughout the month.
Riot Platforms’ Performance
Riot Platforms reported producing 505 BTC in October, a 23% increase from September’s 412 BTC, setting a new post-halving record. The company’s daily production also saw a rise from 13.7 BTC in September to 16.8 BTC in October.
Riot CEO Jason Les credited the production increase to gains in hashrate deployment and operational efficiency. Riot’s hashrate reached 29.4 EH/s in October, up from 28.2 EH/s in the previous month, driven by the deployment of new MicroBT miners at the Corsicana facility. By the end of October, Riot’s Bitcoin holdings had increased to 10,928 BTC from 10,427 BTC in September.
Both Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms have demonstrated their ability to navigate the challenges of the Bitcoin mining industry and achieve significant production milestones despite the ongoing difficulties. Their performance highlights the potential for growth and innovation in the sector.