Also known as MARA, Marathon Digital has reported a notable increase in losses for the second quarter of this year mostly from “unexpected equipment failure” and the effect of April’s bitcoin halving event.
Marathon Shares Nosedive
With a net loss of $199.7 million for the second quarter—a dramatic rise from the $9 million loss in the same period previous year—the company’s most recent quarterly report shows Notwithstanding these difficulties, Marathon’s sales jumped 78% year over year, landing at $145.1 million in Q2.
According to Google Finance, MARA’s shares dropped 7.78% on Nasdaq on Thursday; year-to- date drop = 20.89%.
The chairman and CEO of MARA, Fred Thiel, said in a statement “During the second quarter of 2024, our BTC production was impacted by unexpected equipment failures and transmission line maintenance at the Ellendale site operated by Applied Digital, increased global hash rate, and the April halving event.”
Q2: A Turning Point
Notwithstanding these challenges, Thiel noted a major turning point for the business in Q2: a “all-time high installed hash rate of 31.5 exahash per second”. By the end of the year, the corporation wants this to be 50 EH/s.
But output of Bitcoin suffered; Marathon generated 2,058 BTC in Q2, a 30% down from the same period in 2023. This drop reflects the larger trend among Bitcoin mining companies struggling with lower miner rewards after April’s halved event.
It is important to note that Marathon could be one of the firms affected by the recent proposition submitted by President Joe Biden, taxing Bitcoin miners 30%. Notably, Senator Cynthia Lummis, also known as “Crypto Queen” of Congress, took a strong stance against this proposition, adding that this “is a blatant attack on innovation, energy abundance and American excellence.”
Marathon Sold 51% of its BTC
Marathon sold 51% of its BTC output over the quarter to control running expenses. Last week, however, the corporation strategically bought $100 million worth of bitcoin, raising its holdings to about 0.1% of Bitcoin’s whole supply of 21 million. Marathon also declared a dedication to a complete “HODL” method to handle its bitcoin treasury policy.
The digital asset mining firm selling BTC to cover operating expenses is not new in the field of Bitcoin mining. In 2022, miners sold a significant amount of their holdings contributing to the crypto market winter following the collapse of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. It is important to note that many miners are operating at a loss despite the recent slump in the difficulty of Bitcoin mining which further adds to the reasons for miners selling their BTC.
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