Coins/Exit
Source: VanEck Research, January 2023. Please see important disclosures below regarding hypothetical performance. Hypothetical performance is designed with benefit of hindsight. These simulated results have no financial risk, and they do not represent actual trading, and as such, may not account for various market factors that would have impacted the results. The table represents the result of a single Monte Carlo simulation (out of 5,000) showing the result of different strategies that bitcoin miners can employ (hold for pre-determined time/sell continuously/hold).
The key takeaway from our analysis is that from an expected value standpoint, it is more profitable to run a mining business than it is to buy and hold Bitcoin if our main inputs behave as they have historically. Additionally, of all the mining strategies, the highest expected return (mean return) comes from the strategy where a miner holds its coins to sell them when the business is rolled up at the end of three years. Likewise, it is also clear that the downside risk of running a mining business is greater than buying and holding Bitcoin as an investor can easily loser more of his initial investment supporting an unprofitable mining entity. We attribute these findings to two factors. First, the Bitcoin mining rigs trade at prices that are favorable relative to their potential value for appreciation in bullish Bitcoin scenarios. Second, the historical price trajectory of Bitcoin is skewed positive with high kurtosis (fat tails) and it appears this potential is not reflected in the current price of mining rigs. Therefore, the risk-seeking, adventurous investor may want to consider the mining business. Give us a call if you have a site with cheap power!
DISCLAIMER : The above is not intended as financial advice nor as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, Bitcoin mining equipment, or to take any other action. These are solely the results of a simulation and are for illustrative purposes only. This simulation projects distributions of BTC based upon the distribution of historical returns as well as the distribution of Bitcoin miner beta and hash rate growth. These historical data points were used as the basis for functions that would output projections based upon the distribution of these historical data points. This is not intended as a projection of what the returns of BTC look will like. Neither we, nor anyone else including Satoshi Nakamoto himself, know what the price of Bitcoin, the hashing rate, the price of miners or the beta of miner to Bitcoin will be in the future. This is simply a mock-up based upon historical inputs. Please conduct your own research.
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DISCLOSURES
Definitions
Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Beta of rig price is a measure of the price volatility of a mining rig compared to Bitcoin’s price.
Hash rate is a measure of the computational power on a blockchain network.
The joule is the unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied.
Please note that VanEck may offer investments products that invest in the asset class(es) or industries included in this communication.
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any of the cryptocurrencies mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward looking statements, which do not reflect actual results. Information provided by third-party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. Any opinions, projections, forecasts, and forward-looking statements presented herein are valid as of the date of this communication and are subject to change without notice. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its employees.
Past performance is not an indication, or guarantee, of future results. Hypothetical or model performance results have certain inherent limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading, and accordingly, may have undercompensated or overcompensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors such as market disruptions and lack of liquidity. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading (for example, the ability to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses). Hypothetical or model performance is designed with benefit of hindsight.
Cryptocurrency is a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value, but it does not have legal tender status. Cryptocurrencies are sometimes exchanged for U.S. dollars or other currencies around the world, but they are not generally backed or supported by any government or central bank. Their value is completely derived by market forces of supply and demand, and they are more volatile than traditional currencies. The value of cryptocurrency may be derived from the continued willingness of market participants to exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrency, which may result in the potential for permanent and total loss of value of a particular cryptocurrency should the market for that cryptocurrency disappear. Cryptocurrencies are not covered by either FDIC or SIPC insurance. Legislative and regulatory changes or actions at the state, federal, or international level may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, and value of cryptocurrency.
Investing in cryptocurrencies comes with a number of risks, including volatile market price swings or flash crashes, market manipulation, and cybersecurity risks. In addition, cryptocurrency markets and exchanges are not regulated with the same controls or customer protections available in equity, option, futures, or foreign exchange investing. There is no assurance that a person who accepts a cryptocurrency as payment today will continue to do so in the future.
Investors should conduct extensive research into the legitimacy of each individual cryptocurrency, including its platform, before investing. The features, functions, characteristics, operation, use and other properties of the specific cryptocurrency may be complex, technical, or difficult to understand or evaluate. The cryptocurrency may be vulnerable to attacks on the security, integrity or operation, including attacks using computing power sufficient to overwhelm the normal operation of the cryptocurrency’s blockchain or other underlying technology. Some cryptocurrency transactions will be deemed to be made when recorded on a public ledger, which is not necessarily the date or time that a transaction may have been initiated.
Investors must have the financial ability, sophistication and willingness to bear the risks of an investment and a potential total loss of their entire investment in cryptocurrency.
There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for cryptocurrencies and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of cryptocurrencies. Investors should conduct extensive research before investing in cryptocurrencies.
Information provided by Van Eck is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as financial, tax or legal advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell an interest in cryptocurrencies.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. As with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose money. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Issues with bitcoin mining, avoiding bitcoin mining scams, investing in bitcoin mining stocks, the bottom line.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that requires a process called mining. Bitcoin mining is a network-wide competition to generate a cryptographic solution that matches specific criteria. When a correct solution is reached, a reward in the form of bitcoin and fees for the work done is given to the miner(s) who reached the solution first.
This reward process continues until 21 million bitcoins are circulating. Once that number is reached, the Bitcoin reward is expected to cease, and Bitcoin miners will be rewarded through fees paid for the work done.
investopedia / Ellen Lindner
Here's a simplified example to explain the process. Say you ask friends to guess a number between 1 and 100. Your friends don't have to guess the exact number; they just have to be the first to guess a number less than or equal to your number. If you think of the number 19 and a friend comes up with 21, another 55, and yet another 83, they lose because they all guessed more than 19. But they get to guess again, and the next guesses are 16, 41, and 67. The one who guessed 16 wins because they were first to guess a number less than or equal to 19.
In this case, the number you chose, 19, represents the target hash the Bitcoin network creates for a block, and the random guesses from your friends are the guesses from the miners.
Bitcoin mining is the same thing but at a much larger scale. It uses cryptography, encryption, distributed computing, and technology to verify and secure transactions. Here are the main ideas behind mining that make it work.
At the heart of Bitcoin mining is the hash . The hash is a 64-digit hexadecimal number that is the result of sending the information contained in a block through the SHA256 hashing algorithm. This part of the process takes little time to complete—in fact, you can generate a hash in less than one second, pasting some content into an online SHA256 hash generator. This is the encryption method used by Bitcoin to create a block hash. However, decrypting that hash back to the content you pasted is the difficult part: a 64-digit hash can take centuries to decode with modern hardware.
A hash might look like this (this is the previous paragraph run through a hash generator):
a54f83a5db7371eeefa2287a0ede750ac623e49a8ba29f248eb785fe0a678559
If you change one value in that content, like switching one "t" to an "a," the hash changes. Here is the same paragraph, but the first word is misspelled as "Aa" instead of "At":
fbfa33ff980d1492b3a9275a1eb945d89bd6b699ca19c3c470021b8f253654af
This is the number called the block hash, which is used in the next block's header as part of the information run through encryption. Each block uses the previous block's hash, which acts to chain them together, thus creating the term " blockchain ."
The target hash , used to determine mining difficulty, is the number miners are trying to solve for when they mine. This number is a hash generated by the network.
So, a block hash might look like this (block 786,729):
00000000000000000005a849c28eb24b8a5e04fcecc1ccb3eb2998e4730a456e
The target hash looked like this:
This number is a compacted representation of the difficulty target:
0...000005c73900000...0
So, miners needed to generate a number equal to or less than the above number.
Bitcoin mining requires the mining program to generate a hash and append another number to it called the nonce, or "number used once." When a miner begins, it always starts this number at zero. The nonce changes by one every attempt—first, it's 0, then 1, 2, 3, and so on. If the hash and nonce generated by the miner are more than the target hash set by the network, the attempt fails, and the miner tries again.
Every miner on the network does this until a hash and nonce combination is created that is less than or equal to the target hash. The first to reach that target has their proposed block added to the chain, receives the reward and fees, and a new block is opened. Once that block fills up with information (about one megabyte), it is closed, encrypted, and mined.
The Bitcoin network is made up of thousands of devices that mine 24 hours per day. Because the mining reward goes to the first to solve the problem, they are all competing. This competition led miners to create pools to gain an advantage over other miners because they needed more computational power to increase their chances of winning.
The Bitcoin network mining rate fluctuates, but it averaged a little more than 578 exa-hashes per second on July 3, 2024—that's 578 followed by 18 zeros. If it takes roughly 10 minutes for a block to be mined, that's about 3.4 x 10 23 hashes to open a new block.
The mining process is what you hear called proof-of-work (PoW) —the work done to generate the winning hash is viewed as proof the miner validated the transactions in the block, so it's called proof-of-work.
PoW is also sometimes called a consensus mechanism, but proof-of-work is only part of consensus. Consensus is achieved after the miner adds the block to the blockchain, and the rest of the network validates it using the hashes (reaching consensus). This doesn't require much energy or computational power because each mining node also does this while mining the latest block. As new blocks are added, the network confirms them.
Each block contains the hash of the previous block—so when the next block's hash is generated, the previous block's hash is included. Remember that if even one character changes, the hash changes, so the hash of each following block will change.
When you mine a block and close it, it isn't yet confirmed. The block isn't said to be confirmed until five blocks later, when it has gone through six total validations. With that said, it is possible to alter information in a block before reaching six validations, but it is highly unlikely because the network must be controlled by someone attempting to change information for it to work.
The reward for successfully validating a block is bitcoin. In 2009, you'd receive 50 bitcoin for mining a block. But the block reward is halved every 210,000 blocks (or roughly every four years), so in 2013, the reward amount declined to 25, then 12.5, then 6.25. At Bitcoin's last halving event in April 2024, the reward changed to 3.125.
The first block of the Bitcoin blockchain is called the Genesis block. It holds the first 50 bitcoins ever rewarded.
Another incentive for Bitcoin miners to participate in the process is transaction fees. In addition to rewards, miners also receive fees from any transactions contained in that block. When Bitcoin reaches its planned limit of 21 million ( expected around 2140 ), miners will be rewarded with fees for processing transactions that network users will pay. These fees ensure that miners still have the incentive to mine and keep the blockchain network going. The idea is that competition for these fees will cause them to remain low after halving events are finished.
Mining difficulty is how much work it takes to generate a number less than the target hash. Mining difficulty changes every 2,016 blocks or approximately every two weeks. The next difficulty level depends on how efficient miners were in the preceding cycle and how many miners are participating.
Bitcoin's network increases and decreases the hash rate (the amount of computing power) needed to mine the cryptocurrency. The more miners there are competing for a solution, the more difficult the problem will become. If computational power is taken off the blockchain network, the difficulty adjusts downward to make mining easier. This is done to keep block times averaging about 10 minutes.
The difficulty level for mining on May 1, 2024, was 83.7 trillion. That is, the chances of a computer producing a hash below the target is 1 in 83.7 trillion. To put that in perspective, you are about 286,000 times more likely to win the Powerball Grand Prize with a single lottery ticket than you are to pick the correct hash on a single try.
Bitcoin mining is a business venture. Profits generated from its output—bitcoin—depend on the investment made into its inputs.
There are three main costs involved in Bitcoin mining:
The total costs for these three inputs should be less than the output—in this case, bitcoin's price— for you to generate profits from your venture. Considering the fluctuating—and often rising—price of bitcoin, the idea of minting your own cryptocurrency might sound like an attractive proposition.
But given the economic difficulties of Bitcoin mining, you may have to resign yourself to accepting lower profits and a longer time to break even after purchasing equipment to participate in the lottery that Bitcoin has become.
FoundyUSA and AntPool are two popular mining pools that hold almost 60% of the world's Bitcoin mining power.
Two developments have contributed to the evolution and composition of Bitcoin mining as it is today. First, custom manufacturing of mining Bitcoin machines acted to centralize the network. Because Bitcoin mining is essentially guesswork, arriving at the right answer before another miner has almost everything to do with how fast your devices can produce hashes.
In the early days of Bitcoin, desktop computers with ordinary CPUs dominated Bitcoin mining. However, they began taking a long time to discover the solution on the blockchain network as the algorithm's difficulty level increased with time. According to some estimates, it would have taken "several hundred thousand years on average" using CPUs to find a valid block at the early 2015 difficulty level.
Over time, miners realized that graphics processing units (GPUs), or graphics cards, were more effective and faster at mining. But they consumed a lot of power and weren't designed for heavy mining. Eventually, manufacturers began limiting their mining abilities because the increase in demand for GPUs made their prices skyrocket and decreased availability.
Many miners now use custom mining machines, called Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) miners, equipped with specialized chips for faster and more efficient Bitcoin mining. They cost anywhere from several hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Today, Bitcoin mining is so competitive that it can only be done profitably with the most up-to-date ASICs. But even with the newest unit at your disposal, one is rarely enough to compete with mining pools and large Bitcoin mining operations.
These mining operations are like large data centers full of mining-specific computers. The amount of computations they can perform are staggering—hundreds of trillions per second.
Between one in 83.7 trillion odds, scaling difficulty levels, and the massive network of users verifying transactions, one block of transactions is verified roughly every 10 minutes. But it's important to remember that 10 minutes is a goal, not a rule.
The Bitcoin network can currently process between three and six transactions per second, with transactions logged in the blockchain about every 10 minutes. By comparison, Visa claims it can process about 65,000 transactions per second. Second-layer solutions and upgrades to the Bitcoin blockchain have attempted to address speed issues, but modern banking networks and other blockchains still dwarf the number of transactions the Bitcoin network can handle.
The main issue at the heart of the Bitcoin protocol is scaling—the blockchain's ability to handle more work efficiently. Though Bitcoin miners generally agree that something must be done to address scaling, there is less consensus about how to do it.
Bitcoin has been adjusted by introducing upgrades and accepting input from layers that do much of the work off-chain, but it still has issues with scalability . When making adjustments, blockchain is surrounded by three central concerns: decentralization, security, and scalability. With current technology, one cannot be changed without affecting another. For example, if the Bitcoin blockchain were altered so that it could scale more effectively, it would likely decrease security and increase centralization.
Not surprisingly, in an age where all endeavors should have their environmental impacts evaluated and adjusted, Bitcoin mining's astronomical energy costs have drawn attention. Bitcoin's competitive proof-of-work mechanic is what causes it to use so much energy. According to some estimates, the blockchain's mining process consumes as much electricity as entire countries.
Proof-of-stake, the validation mechanic used by Ethereum, uses a minuscule amount of energy compared to Bitcoin's proof-of-work.
For most of Bitcoin's short history, its mining process has remained an energy-intensive one. In the decade after it was launched, Bitcoin mining was concentrated in China, a country that relies on fossil fuels like coal to produce a majority of its electricity. But crackdowns in China forced miners to move their operations elsewhere.
According to research done by the University of Cambridge, the majority of Bitcoin mining operations are now centered in the United States. Of the nearly 38% of global Bitcoin mining activity conducted in the U.S., more than 62% is concentrated in four states: Georgia (30.76%), Texas (11.22%), Kentucky (10.93%), and New York (9.77%). This means that four states make up more than 23% of the world's Bitcoin mining energy use and, theoretically, its hashing power.
Hashing power is how fast a computer, miner, or network can generate solutions (hashes) to the cryptographic problem. For instance, the Bitcoin network has a hashrate of more than 579 exahashes (quintillion) per second. That's 579 x 10 18 —or 579 followed by 18 zeros—hashes per second.
Like anything that involves money, Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining attract people who will try to trick you out of your money. If you decide to begin mining, you'll need to look out for mining scams before picking the software, tools, or networks you need to begin. Here are some of the scams to look out for.
There are many other types of frauds and scams to look out for, but the best way to prevent falling victim is to never give your keys, seed phrases, or passwords to anyone. Additionally, don't put your trust in someone you've never met or have only known for a short time.
If you're interested in mining but don't want to become involved in the process or take the risks involved, you can invest in companies that mine bitcoin. Some publicly traded businesses that own or are affiliated with Bitcoin mining are Hut 8, Marathon Digital Holdings, and Clean Spark, but there are many others to choose from.
It depends on your mining setup and the costs you've incurred to begin mining. It can take years to recoup your costs and start making a profit. However, if you're not worried about costs and profit but only about what you'll get per day, a modern high-end gaming PC mining with a pool can generate about $1 per day before considering electricity and other costs.
The reward for mining is 3.125 bitcoins. It takes the network about 10 minutes to mine one block, so it takes about 10 minutes to mine 3.125 bitcoins.
To begin mining Bitcoin, you need to join a mining pool and install a mining client. Some pools have their own mining software; others only provide instructions on how to connect one of several mining clients. Mining pools share rewards based on the amount of work contributed, so the faster your computer or mining machine is, the more you'll receive. You can mine solo, but your chances of ever being rewarded are minuscule at best.
Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process involving mining devices and software that compete to solve a cryptographic problem. The Bitcoin mining process also confirms transactions on the cryptocurrency's network. As an incentive to participate in the process, bitcoin is rewarded to those that win the competition.
Though individual miners using desktop systems played a role during the cryptocurrency's early days, the Bitcoin mining ecosystem is dominated by large mining companies that run mining pools spread across many geographies. Bitcoin mining is also controversial because it uses astronomical amounts of energy.
The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes online. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.
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BTC.com. " Pool Stats ."
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Arvind Narayanan, et al. "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction," Page 112. Princeton University Press, 2016.
Blockchain. " Network Difficulty ."
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Updated: May 13, 2024, 2:22pm
In 2021, Tesla stopped taking Bitcoin for electric vehicle purchases. Why? Concern for the environmental toll of creating new units of the world’s best-known cryptocurrency in a process called mining.
The computers that mint new Bitcoin use a tremendous amount of electricity , often generated by fossil fuels. That real-world cost of electricity is one of the factors that give real-world value to the digital currency, which is currently trading at around $23,600.
Regardless of the source of electricity, and the cryptocurrency mining industry is moving toward renewable energy sources, mining is central to Bitcoin’s existence as a decentralized currency.
Whether you’re considering buying Bitcoin outright, mining it yourself or investing in the companies that mine it or make mining equipment, you’ll first want to understand what Bitcoin mining is in the first place.
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Bitcoin mining refers to the process where a global network of computers running the Bitcoin code work to ensure that transactions are legitimate and added correctly to the cryptocurrency’s blockchain . Mining is also how new Bitcoin is entered into circulation.
“Bitcoin mining is what makes the Bitcoin network secure,” says Stefan Ristić, owner of the educational website BitcoinMiningSoftware.com.
High-powered computers compete to be the first to validate a series of transactions called a block, and add the block to the blockchain.
Miners are paid transaction fees and 6.25 BTC per block for their efforts (if they solve the block correctly). That’s around $147,000 at today’s prices.
“The mining, or transaction processing, is accomplished by incredibly expensive and powerful computers whose sole function is to run algorithms to solve the mathematical problem that allows their owner to win a Bitcoin block—and the revenue that comes with it,” says Richard Baker, CEO of miner and blockchain services provider TAAL Distributed Information Technologies.
Verifying Bitcoin transactions and recording them on the blockchain involves solving complex algorithms. This is all part of Bitcoin’s proof of work consensus mechanism, which aims to add a new block every 10 minutes.
The more computing power a miner has, the more likely it is to win blocks.
“They have a chance to earn Bitcoin every 10 minutes based on how much computing power they use,” says Bruce Fenton, CEO of fintech company Chainstone Labs.
The latest Bitcoin mining machines use application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) specifically programmed for Bitcoin mining to deal with all the computing power needed, explains Patricia Trompeter, CEO of cryptocurrency miner Sphere 3D Corp.
The current generation of these dedicated Bitcoin mining rigs generate possible answers to the Bitcoin block equations at around 100 trillion hashes per second, says Rob Chang, CEO of Gryphon Digital Mining, a privately held Bitcoin miner.
A Bitcoin Hash is a mining measurement of the amount of computing power used on the network to process transactions.
Since Bitcoin was released in 2009, the energy required to produce the cryptocurrency has increased as the network raises the mining difficulty to keep the flow of new blocks of transactions steady even as more miners get involved.
Bitcoin mining is usually a large-scale commercial affair done by companies using data centers with purpose-built servers. Mining farms can have many mining computers held in warehouses.
“The input that determines whether such activities are profitable is the cost of electricity to power the mining computers,” says David Weisberger, CEO of trading platform CoinRoutes.
Because of this, farms are often located near energy sources like dams, oil and gas wells, solar farms or geothermal sources.
“The more network participants, the higher the difficulty gets,” says Jagdeep Sidhu, president of Syscoin Foundation, which represents the open-source blockchain project Syscoin.
High costs put home miners at a disadvantage to institutional miners, who can source low-cost power and save money with bulk purchases of Bitcoin mining rigs.
“Although there are home operators who have Bitcoin mining operations in their residences, the process of mining has become both expensive and regulated, which marginalizes the smaller miners,” Baker says.
But that’s not to say mining Bitcoin at home is impossible.
If you want to mine Bitcoin at home in a serious way, you’ll need to buy an ASIC Bitcoin mining rig, which can easily cost more than $10,000.
“However, mining at home may not be profitable given residential electricity rates,” Trompeter says. “Additionally, ASICs are very loud and, if not properly cooled, can overheat.”
To explore profitability potential, you can consult an online Bitcoin mining calculator that factors your electricity costs, among other inputs.
Even people with an ASIC mining machine at home tend to pool their computing power with other ASIC owners and share the Bitcoin reward based on their contribution to the pool. While you can successfully mine a block solo, that feat is often compared to winning the lottery.
You can also consider cloud mining, where you buy or lease hardware or rent computing power hosted by a third party.
Because a new block is generated roughly every 10 minutes, a new Bitcoin is minted about every 96 seconds, Ristić points out. But that single Bitcoin is most likely shared between many miners worldwide.
It can take a single miner a very long time to mine one Bitcoin, says William Szamosszegi, CEO of Bitcoin mining platform Sazmining, which connects individual retail miners with existing green Bitcoin mining facilities.
Here’s the scope of a bitcoin mining company: Gryphon Digital Mining reported in April that it mined 61-Bitcoin equivalents for the month.
Those results take a lot of computing power. (The company even bought more than 7,000 Bitcoin mining rigs in July 2021 for $48 million for its operations.)
For this reason, with such fierce competition, most Bitcoin miners work together as part of a mining pool. As part of the pool, they combine their hash rate with improving their odds of solving a block on Bitcoin’s blockchain.
Matt Whittaker specializes in natural resources journalism. Over the past two decades, he’s reported on energy, cannabis, mining, agriculture and commercial fishing from the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, U.S. News & World Report, New Scientist, VICE and other publications have featured his work. You can follow him on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
September 6, 2024 @ 10:14 am By Omar Faridi
MARA Holdings, Inc. ( NASDAQ: MARA ), which claims to be one of the world’s largest publicly traded bitcoin (BTC) miners and a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, recently released unaudited BTC production and miner installation updates for August 2024.
Fred Thiel , MARA’s chairman and CEO said:
“During the month of August, we continued to bring additional hash online and our energized hash rate grew to 35.2 EH/s, an 11% increase over July. We are proud to have mined our 4,000th block during August. Block wins during the month declined 2% from July while BTC production decreased 3% to 673 BTC. We continue to invest in our mining operations and grow our business, utilizing every available resource and strategy.”
As noted in the update:
“Domestically, we continue to improve the operation of our sites and remain on track to reach our target of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024. During the month, we energized almost 18 immersion containers in Granbury, Texas. We are converting a large portion of our Granbury data center from air cooled to MARA’s immersion containers, with plans to transition at least another 30 in September. This work is expected to be completed before year end.”
As stated in the release:
“We currently own and operate approximately 54% of the 1.1 gigawatts of power in our diversified portfolio of energy technology solutions. As we continue to increase the share of owned and operated sites in our fleet, we anticipate continuing to achieve cost savings on a per petahash basis. Our long-term goal is to position MARA as one of the industry’s most cost-efficient operators.”
Operational Highlights and Updates
Prior Month Comparison:
These metrics are MARAPool only and do “not include blocks won from joint ventures.”
Defined as the total amount of block rewards “including transaction fees that MARA earned during the period divided by the total amount of block rewards and transaction fees awarded by the Bitcoin network during the period.”
As of August 31, 2024, the company held “a total of 25,945 unrestricted BTC. MARA opted not to sell any BTC in August.”
As mentioned in the update, MARA is a global enabler of digital asset compute that “develops and deploys innovative technologies to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.”
MARA secures the world’s preeminent blockchain ledger and says that it also “supports the energy transformation by converting clean, stranded, or otherwise underutilized energy into economic value.”
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Energized Hash Rate Increases 11% M/M to 35.2 EH/s 196 Blocks Won in August, 2% Decrease M/M Increased BTC Holdings to 25,945 BTC
Fort Lauderdale, FL, Sept. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA ) ("MARA" or the "Company") , one of the world’s largest publicly traded bitcoin ("BTC") miners and a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, today published unaudited BTC production and miner installation updates for August 2024.
Management Commentary
"During the month of August, we continued to bring additional hash online and our energized hash rate grew to 35.2 EH/s, an 11% increase over July," said Fred Thiel, MARA's chairman and CEO. "We are proud to have mined our 4,000th block during August. Block wins during the month declined 2% from July while BTC production decreased 3% to 673 BTC. We continue to invest in our mining operations and grow our business, utilizing every available resource and strategy.
"Domestically, we continue to improve the operation of our sites and remain on track to reach our target of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024. During the month, we energized almost 18 immersion containers in Granbury, Texas. We are converting a large portion of our Granbury data center from air cooled to MARA's immersion containers, with plans to transition at least another 30 in September. This work is expected to be completed before year end.
"We currently own and operate approximately 54% of the 1.1 gigawatts of power in our diversified portfolio of energy technology solutions. As we continue to increase the share of owned and operated sites in our fleet, we anticipate continuing to achieve cost savings on a per petahash basis. Our long-term goal is to position MARA as one of the industry's most cost-efficient operators."
Operational Highlights and Updates Figure 1: Operational Highlights
% | |||||||
BTC Produced | 673 | 692 | (3) | % | |||
Average BTC Produced per Day | 21.7 | 22.3 | (3) | % | |||
Share of available miner rewards | 4.8 | % | 4.5 | % | NM | ||
Transaction Fees as % of Total | 2.7 | % | 2.9 | % | NM | ||
% |
NM - Not Meaningful
As of August 31, 2024, the Company held a total of 25,945 unrestricted BTC. MARA opted not to sell any BTC in August.
Investor Notice
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any other periodic reports that we may file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below.
The operational highlights and updates presented in this press release pertain solely to our BTC mining operations. Detailed information regarding our other operations can be found in our periodic reports filed with the SEC.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. The words "may," "will," "could," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "believe," "continue," "target" and similar expressions or variations or negatives of these words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements related to the expected timing and achievement of our growth targets, specifically relating to our anticipated hash rate and exahash growth, cost savings, and the transition to immersion coolers at the Granbury site. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations about future events as of the date hereof and involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Subsequent events and developments, including actual results or changes in our assumptions, may cause our views to change. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except to the extent required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Our actual results and outcomes could differ materially from those included in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the factors set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, and any other periodic reports that we may file with the SEC.
MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) is a global leader in digital asset compute that develops and deploys innovative technologies to build a more sustainable and inclusive future. MARA secures the world's preeminent blockchain ledger and supports the energy transformation by converting clean, stranded, or otherwise underutilized energy into economic value.
For more information, visit www.mara.com , or follow us on:
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MARA Company Contact: Telephone: 800-804-1690 Email: [email protected]
MARA Media Contact: Email: [email protected]
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The statement is the latest in the hostile takeover drama between the two bitcoin miners..
Bitfarms has fired back at Riot in the latest rift between the two Bitcoin mining firms and an increasingly contentious takeover fight.
In a statement Wednesday, Bitfarms said that Riot had “declined to engage with us constructively” and that its rival’s takeover plan would hurt shareholders.
Riot has been trying to snap up smaller miner Bitfarms for months. Riot yesterday criticized Bitfarms’ move to acquire mining company Stronghold Digital. Bitfarms had announced last month that it would do so—while fighting off Riot’s effort.
“Our recent proposed acquisition of Stronghold is consistent with our strategy to diversify our access to power and also rebalances our energy portfolio towards the U.S.,” Bitfarms said.
“Riot has declined to engage with us constructively—including by refusing to enter into a standard non-disclosure agreement with Bitfarms or put forth a revised proposal for our consideration—and has instead taken to public attacks and actions to harm the interests of other Bitfarms shareholders,” it added.
Riot has been trying to acquire Bitfarms since April. It first made an unsolicited offer of around $950 million to its Canada-based rival but was rejected. It then started buying the company’s stock in a bid to gain control over it and has advocated changes to the Bitfarms board of directors.
But Bitfarms has continued to resist, saying recent board and leadership changes “were made independently of Riot... not for Riot’s benefit and approval.”
Its plans to buy Pittsburgh-based Stronghold Digital were characterized “strategic” move that could help the Bitcoin miner stop the hostile takeover from Riot, experts told Decrypt last month.
Riot did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt .
Russia is profiting from BTC-related activities, and people in the United States aren’t happy about it.
Fred Thiel, CEO of Bitcoin miner Mara, is in the news today after he claimed that mining and BTC strategic reserves are national security interests. He made the remarks after it was revealed that Russia mined $3 billion BTC last year amid Western sanctions.
“Just shows that #bitcoin is a matter of national security, both bitcoin mining and strategic reserve. Russia mined over $3 billion in Bitcoin last year amid sanctions.”
According to Russian outlet Izvestia , the aforementioned information was revealed by Sergey Bezdelov, Director of Russia’s Industrial Mining Association, during a mining session on Wednesday. He also noted that the government earned $555 million in taxes from BTC mining taxes in 2023. He said,
“In 2023, 54K Bitcoins were mined in Russia. According to our estimates, the annual increase in taxes is 50 billion rubles. Now there is a law on the correct “gentle” regulation. 50 billion – with today’s scenario conditions. And new investors will come.”
Although this figure is less than 1% of Russia’s $2.27 trillion GDP (Gross Domestic Product), it points to a remarkable tax revenue source. Especially given the country’s economic woes following Western sanctions.
To its credit, despite its regulatory challenges, the United States has seen some progress following the approval of Spot ETFs (exchange-traded funds) for Bitcoin and Ethereum [ETH]. In July, Donald Trump pledged to establish a national strategic reserve for BTC if elected President. The former President also reaffirmed his commitment to making the U.S the world capital for BTC and crypto.
On the contrary, Russia recently passed crypto mining laws and established an experimental framework to drive international trade using crypto. In August, the government unveiled plans for stablecoins pegged on the Chinese Yuan and BRICS currencies to drive this bold crypto plan.
Additionally, it established two crypto exchanges in St. Petersburg and Moscow to allow select firms and individuals to conduct trade and settlements through cryptocurrencies. The country’s crypto pivot is its solution to Western sanctions, which reportedly affected its economy through delayed cross-border payments and trade.
In fact, according to the latest Chainalysis report, the Russian government could use several crypto exchanges, such as Exved and Garantex, to evade sanctions. However, the firm noted that large-scale usage at the national and international levels could face several challenges, including sanctions on associated wallet addresses.
Part of the report read ,
“On-chain sanctions evasion at scale remains highly improbable, given Russia’s total foreign exchange reserves are just under half a trillion dollars…Wallet addresses associated with CEXs, mining services, and other on-chain entities can be identified, attributed, and potentially sanctioned.”
It remains to be seen how Russia will navigate these challenges as it aims to eclipse crypto mining in the United States.
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Bitcoin Mining Business Plan. Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their bitcoin mining companies. If you're unfamiliar with creating a bitcoin mining business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process.
Develop A Bitcoin Mining Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed Bitcoin mining business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.
A Bitcoin mining business plan has the following key elements: 1. Executive Summary. This summary is intended to be consumed by key decision-makers who may not have time to go through the entire business plan. The Executive Summary captures the key takeaways from each section of the business plan. In the case of Bitcoin mining operation, these ...
STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card. Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection. When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued.
A Sample Bitcoin Mining Business Plan Template. 1. Industry Overview. Bitcoin mining in its simplest term is the practice of adding transaction records to Bitcoin's public ledger of previous transactions or block chain. This ledger of previous transactions is called the block chain as it is a chain of blocks.
A detailed business plan is vital for the success and sustainability of your Bitcoin mining operation. Your plan should cover several key areas: Initial Setup : Outline the necessary steps to start your mining operation, including purchasing equipment, securing a location, and establishing your mining infrastructure.
2. Analyze the Competition. To assess the competitive landscape, first, use a crypto mining pool ranking site to identify the largest pools by hash rate distribution. The biggest pools like AntPool, F2Pool, and ViaBTC account for over 50% of global Bitcoin mining power currently. Source.
Cryptocurrency mining, particularly Bitcoin mining, requires significant amounts of electricity to power the mining equipment and perform complex calculations. According to the EIA, annual electricity use from cryptocurrency mining in the United States represents between 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption.
How Does Bitcoin Mining Work? A Guide for Business
BITCOIN MINING MINI BUSINESS PLAN. This a quick reality check to help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business concept before you dive in. Expected Percent Margin: Gross Margin: 15-35%; Net Profit Margin: 5-15%. Earnings Expectations: Daily Earnings: $100 - $250; Weekly Earnings: $700 - $1750; Monthly Earnings: $3,000 - $7,500
A bitcoin mining business plan is a document that outlines the strategies you have developed to start and/or grow your bitcoin mining business. Among other things, it details information about your industry, customers and competitors to help ensure your company is positioned properly to succeed. Your bitcoin mining business plan also assesses ...
This explainer breaks down mining companies by five business models: Asset-light Mining, Co-location Only, Self-Mining Only, Hybrid Mining, and Vertical Integration. If you are new to bitcoin mining, we recommend this piece that provides an overview of the bitcoin mining ecosystem .
This business plan is to focus on MFH's Bitcoin mining business in the next five years. MFH's digital currency investment and transaction business is under planning. 1. Since the end of 2020, the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise, and the battle for computing power has become increasingly fierce with heightened mining
How to Mine Bitcoin: Tips and Tricks to Maximize Your ...
Before making your purchase to start your crypto mining business, calculate the projected profitability of your miner, using mining profitability calculators online like this one. You can input ...
The bitcoin mining business model is a strong one, allowing for bitcoin mining companies to create bitcoin at structurally lower prices than the market and achieve high-profit margins when the price of bitcoin is high. Indeed, given economies of scale in procurement and operations, many top public miners have a marginal cost of production well ...
The below table reflects the results of different mining strategies when compared against mining rig beta and hash rate growth. The variable inputs in this table is the yearly average price of Bitcoin in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The prices used to generate the below table are $18k for 2023, $33k for 2024 and $45k for 2025.
Bitcoin Mining in 2021. Starting in July 2020, Bitcoin mining profitability began surging in line with Bitcoin's increasing value. Since then, the estimated yield per hash rate has multiplied fivefold, climbing from $0.065/TH/s in July 2020 to $0.32/TH/s in Feb 2021—its highest value since July 2019. AD.
How to Start Mining Cryptocurrency
What Is Bitcoin Mining?
How Does Bitcoin Mining Work? - Cryptocurrency
And then Bitcoin decided it was time for a bear market, which is plain bad for business (especially if your business is mining bitcoin). In March 2022, bitcoin's price was $48,000. By November ...
For those looking to maximize earnings, MasHash provides a range of paid mining plans with varying levels of hashing power and potential rewards, supporting popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin ...
In 2021, Bitinfocharts show that Bitcoin mining profitability was relatively high above 0.4 USD per day for 1 THash/s. However, it started to decline towards the end of the year until 2024. The ...
Blockstream started a third round of sales for its tokenized note, BMN2 The round will be priced at $31,000 and give investors a share of the bitcoin produced by the mining company. The hashrate ...
MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), which claims to be one of the world's largest publicly traded bitcoin (BTC) miners and a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, recently ...
Energized Hash Rate Increases 11% M/M to 35.2 EH/s196Blocks Won in August, 2%Decrease M/MIncreased BTC Holdings to 25,945 BTCFort Lauderdale, FL, ...
Coinbase's chief legal officer has criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its ambiguous position regarding FTX's proposal to repay creditors using stablecoins or ...
Bitfarms has fired back at Riot in the latest rift between the two Bitcoin mining firms and an increasingly contentious takeover fight. In a statement Wednesday, Bitfarms said that Riot had "declined to engage with us constructively" and that its rival's takeover plan would hurt shareholders.. Riot has been trying to snap up smaller miner Bitfarms for months.
According to Russian outlet Izvestia, the aforementioned information was revealed by Sergey Bezdelov, Director of Russia's Industrial Mining Association, during a mining session on Wednesday. He also noted that the government earned $555 million in taxes from BTC mining taxes in 2023. He said, "In 2023, 54K Bitcoins were mined in Russia.