According to Blockworks, Marathon Digital achieved a 4% increase in hash rate in December, mining more bitcoin than in any previous month. The Florida-based company mined 1,853 bitcoin (BTC) in December, up from 1,187 BTC in November. To cover operating expenses, Marathon sold 704 bitcoins, approximately 38% of its December production. The company claims this is the highest monthly total ever recorded by a public bitcoin mining firm.
Nishant Sharma, founder of BlocksBridge Consulting, told Blockworks that Marathon's December bitcoin production surpasses the previous public miner record held by Core Scientific, which generated 1,527 BTC in January 2023. Marathon's total significantly outpaces competitors CleanSpark and Riot Platforms, which mined 720 BTC and 619 BTC, respectively, in December. Core Scientific, which mined 954 BTC in November, had not released its December production numbers as of Thursday morning.
This achievement comes as Marathon and other industry companies prioritize growth ahead of the next bitcoin halving, scheduled for April, when per-block BTC rewards will decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Marathon Digital increased its energized hash rate to 24.7 exahashes per second (EH/s) in December. Core Scientific ranked second among public mining firms in this category, with an energized hash rate of 21.6 EH/s as of November 30.
In addition to growing its hash rate, Marathon has expanded to other parts of the world, such as Abu Dhabi and Paraguay, in an effort to reduce costs.
