If the miner Riot did well in the third quarter, its competitor Marathon again posted substantial losses.
A hole of 75 million dollars
While Riot was able to garner $ 46 million in the third quarter, Marathon shows a loss net of $75 million. The deficit has even reached $280 million since January 1.
That said, note that Riot’s revenue attributable to bitcoin mining alone was only $7 million in Q3.
While Riot can count on income related to its engineering, hosting and Texas electricity credits, Marathon is 100% focused on BTC mining.
Speaking of Texas, Marathon is relocating its mining fleet there. This move explains a good part of its recent losses, as its CEO Fred Thiel explained:
“The third quarter of 2022 was a period of transition and reconstruction during which we left Montana entirely. We have started powering miners at new sites, including 280 megawatts in Texas.”
Indeed, Marathon’s hash rate went from around 0.7 PE/s on July 1, to 3.8 PE/s at the end of September. It is now close to 7 PE/s and the objective is to reach 9 PE/s by the end of the year. And even 23 PE/s by next July…
This relocation will not be lucky since the minor will benefit from the recent confirmation of the tax exemption of the wind farm from his electricity supplier.
Thus, like Riot, Marathon will be able to benefit from the electricity credits provided for by its curtailment clauses during peak consumption.
Bitcoin mining is a marathon
Business is picking up for Marathon, which has never mined as many BTC as last October. The harvest was 615 bitcoins, almost as much as its production for the whole of the third quarter.
This growth, while others turn off their machines, suggests that the firm lives up to its name. Especially since she sold very few BTC!
While Core Scientific sold off 2594 BTC in Q3, Marathon only sold some 257. One no longer has a single BTC while the other holds 11,285 BTC.
These BTC stashes are ultimately the yardstick for guessing who emerges will survive the hash war:
Here is an overview of the distribution of BTC holdings of public miners. These miners hold 33,855 BTC in total, with a USD value of ~$675 million. »
The miners racing in the lead usually have little debt. This is the case of Marathon, which prefers to finance its growth by raising funds on the stock market.
In other words, it is the shareholders who have been disillusioned for some time. MARA’s stock price fell from $75 to $10 between the start of the bear market and today. Nevertheless, the stock is still worth five times more than before the 2021 bull market.
Shareholders will certainly be rewarded since “one of the key elements of our strategy is to consolidate our activities on sites close to renewable energy sources”can we read on their site.
The objective of the firm is to display a carbon footprint neutral by the end of the year. A good omen when we observe the strong geopolitical tensions and the price of carbon energies…
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