December update for Bitcoin (BTC) production and miner installation by crypto miner Marathon Digital Holdings has marked a milestone for them. With 1,853 BTC mined in the month, production has increased 56 percent in a month and 290 percent year-on-year. With this, they surpassed BTC miner Core Scientific’s 1,527 Bitcoin produced in January 2023.
The Company Hopes To Reach 50 Exahashes Soon
The company claims to have increased its energized hash rate to 24.7 exahashes according to the update and plans to reach 50 exahashes in almost a couple of years. The company’s CEO and chairman Fred Thiel noted that 2.7 exahashes are online in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 4.4 exahashes are still to go online.
According to the official press release, 8,900 of the company’s miners were applied to Applied Digital’s facility in Garden City, Texas during December, increasing the total number of machines to 199,200. Currently, their operations extend to Texas, North Dakota, and more.
Their monthly BTC holdings grew by 8 percent in a month and 24 percent in a year. After the update, their portfolio includes 15,174 BTC in total. In a recent report published by data aggregator CoinGecko, Marathon Digital remains the biggest crypto miner in terms of Bitcoin holdings. With context to capacity, Riot Platforms holds this position.
Institutional crypto miners are responding to the changing market dynamics by scaling up their operations. Major entities in this arena including Cipher Mining, Riot Platforms, Stronghold Digital, and more have annexed their mining rig fleet. In December 2023, Marathon announced the acquisition of two sites in Texas and Nebraska.
Apart from Bitcoin mining, transaction fee surges due to increased activity on the network in recent times have pushed miners’ revenue higher. It is primarily due to the rising popularity of Ordinals Bitcoin Inscriptions. Ordinals can be deemed equivalent to non-fungible tokens on the BTC network.
As far as halving is concerned, Bitcoin miners are expected to update their operations to make the best out of the situation. Halving slashes the BTC mining reward to half while the difficulty of mining it is increased. Consequently, they are coerced into increasing their mining capacity to sustain themselves in the market.
Investor and author Robert Kiyosaki recently warned about the deepening financial crises that may lead to economic hardships for people. However, he urged his followers to closely monitor the BTC alongside gold and silver, especially during the first quarter of this year.
His post read, “I Hesitate Saying This: yet I believe it needs to be said. “One reason the poor and middle class remain poor is because they have poor friends and family.” If you want to be rich it is essential to have rich friends or at minimum friends who want to be rich. A Bitcoin halving is fast approaching. Please pay attention to Bitcoin halving, gold, and silver in January, February, and March. Please choose your friends carefully.”
Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2024/01/06/marathon-now-holds-15174-bitcoin-after-the-latest-update/