Marathon Digital Holdings Reports 22% Increase in Bitcoin Mining Hash Rate for May 2024

Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), a prominent player in the cryptocurrency mining industry, has announced significant updates to its Bitcoin (BTC) production and mining operations for May 2024. According to the company, its average operational hash rate surged by 22% month-over-month to 25.7 exahashes per second (EH/s).

Operational Advancements

In May, Marathon Digital Holdings increased its Bitcoin holdings to 17,857 BTC, with total cash and Bitcoin assets amounting to $1.5 billion as of May 31, 2024. Notably, the company boosted its operational hash rate to 25.7 EH/s from 21.1 EH/s in April, demonstrating a 22% improvement.

Fred Thiel, Chairman and CEO of Marathon, highlighted the company's progress amidst challenging market conditions. “The strength of our MARA pool was evident in May as we achieved a noteworthy 32% increase in the number of blocks won compared to April, growing from 129 blocks to 170,” said Thiel. He also noted that Marathon's share of available miner awards rose from 3.2% to 4.2%, mitigating the impact of the April halving event.

Domestic and International Expansion

Domestically, operational improvements at the Ellendale facility have shown positive results. Marathon has optimized its newly acquired sites with immersion cooling technology and the latest generation of hardware, aiming to reach a target of 50 EH/s by the end of the year.

On the international front, Marathon recently signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of Kenya to support energy utilization and optimize renewable energy projects. This marks Marathon's first direct collaboration with a government to enhance energy infrastructure. Previously, Marathon had worked with sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and launched a pilot project in Paraguay.

Mining Metrics

Marathon's operational fleet now includes approximately 246,000 Bitcoin miners, theoretically capable of producing 30.6 EH/s. As of the end of May, 237,000 miners were fully operational, achieving a peak overall hash rate of 28.1 EH/s.

Financial Overview

Financially, Marathon reported holding $290.4 million in unrestricted cash at the end of May 2024. The combined balance of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and Bitcoin increased to $1.495 billion from $1.214 billion at the end of April. The company sold 390 BTC in May and plans to continue selling portions of its Bitcoin holdings to support operations and manage its treasury.

Marathon continues to be a key player in the cryptocurrency mining sector, leveraging its technological advancements and strategic partnerships to enhance its operational efficiency and expand its global footprint.