Bitfarms Ltd (TSX: BITF) was the first crypto miner to post production figures for the month of January this morning. The firm saw a slight decline in output on a month over month basis, while continuing to sell off its bitcoin holdings.
Total bitcoin mined during the month came in at 486, down slightly from the 496 produced in January, despite an improved operating hashrate of 4.7 EH/s. The firm averaged production of 15.7 bitcoin per day, equating to roughly $362,700 per day.
The slight decline in production was blamed on network difficulty increasing 10.3% on January 15, and by a further 4.7% on January 29, as well as operations in Quebec being temporarily curtailed in relation to energy curtailment programs the firm has entered.
READ: Bitfarms Considers Defaulting On $20 Million Loan To Renegotiate Debt
In terms of its balance sheet, the company sold all 486 bitcoin it produced, leaving it with 405 bitcoin in custody, which reflects less than one months production capacity. Funds received from the sales amounted to gross proceeds of $9.7 million, of which $2.5 million was used to pay off equipment debt. Total assets in custody amount to roughly $9.4 million as of January 31.
“During January, we continued to proactively increase financial flexibility by reducing indebtedness and capital expenditure obligations. We paid off three of our highest interest rate equipment loans totaling $830,000. These payments furthered our progress towards achieving our strategic objective of deleveraging our balance sheet that we set in June of 2022,” commented CFO Jeff Lucas.
Bitcoin continues to see strength
While Bitfarms has continued its recent strategy of selling off bitcoin holdings to pay down debt, the price of bitcoin during the month of January saw a resurgence. Over the course of the last month, the flagship cryptocurrency has seen its value increase just under 39.0%, rising over $6,400 per coin in the last thirty days.
The price of the crypto is believed to be rising primarily as a result of signs of slowing inflation, and the gradual weakening of the US dollar in connection with the potential slowing of economic activity in the US. Gold, likewise, has seen a price rise in line with similar sentiment, rising 5.79% to a $1,928 during the same time period.
Bitfarms last traded at $1.33 on the TSX.
Information for this briefing was found via Edgar and the companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
