Of Power, Storms, And Taxes: Marathon Digital Saw Bitcoin Production Cut By 44% In Q2 2022
Marathon Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA) announced Thursday its production updates, highlighting a quarterly production of 707 self-mined bitcoin in Q2 2022. This is a huge decline from Q1 2022’s 1,258.6 bitcoin but an increase from Q2 2021’s 654 bitcoin.
“In the second quarter, we continued to work through several operational obstacles as we progressed with installing miners in Texas in preparation of energization,” said CEO Fred Thiel.
Following the announcement, the firm’s stocks rallied on Friday, gaining by as much as 32.7% at its day-high price.
The company is still facing delays in energizing its recently installed miners at its Texas facility. The hosting provider, Compute North, has seen continuous postponements in powering the facility as it still awaits “federal agency confirmation of its exempt status for tax purposes.” Originally expected to be launched on April 17, it has been rescheduled to May 2022, then June 2022. Come July 2022, the facility is yet to be energized.
“We now have 29,640 miners, representing approximately 2.9 exahashes per second, installed and ready for energization in Texas. Approximately 20,000 of these miners, representing an estimated 1.9 exahashes per second, have been installed at Compute North’s first major facility,” said Thiel.
This exacerbated the power interruption problems suffered at the company’s Hardin facility in Montana. Maintenance issues impacted miners at the facility in April and May.
This was followed by a severe storm in June, “damaging the power plant’s cooling towers and leaving our 30,000 miners in the region without power.” This reduced the operating fleet down to 6,300 miners at 0.7 EH/s, leading to a June production of 140 bitcoin.
“Despite the current operational challenges, we are working to capitalize on hosting opportunities and are actively engaged with various hosting providers. Ultimately, we look forward to working through this near-term friction and striving to solidify Marathon’s position as a leader in our space,” added Thiel.
Currently, the blockchain company has 10,055 bitcoin in custody with a market value of approximately US$198.9 million, given the current prices of the digital asset. This compares to last quarter’s holdings of 9,373.6 bitcoin with a market value then of approximately US$427.7 million.
Marathon Digital last traded at US$8.51 on the Nasdaq, up 21.40% on the day.
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.
