Bitcoin Miners & Holders Double Down Despite Bear Market Downturn

Stung by Bitcoin sinking below $20,000 in September, public miners and prominent holders have determined to follow through with their standing strategies.

Publicly listed Bitcoin miner BitFarms commenced production at the first of two 50-megawatt (MW) warehouses under development in Argentina, according to a press release. The company’s announcement came as its stock, listed on the Nasdaq, trades just above $1.20, down nearly half from $2.30 last month.

With the initial startup, adding 10 MW of capacity, which increases total corporate capacity to 176 MW, the company reported a milestone hashrate exceeding 4 exahash per second (EH/s). In 10 MW increments over the course of the following months, BitFarms CEO Geoff Morphy said he hopes to reach the 50 MW goal by the end of the year. 

“We are proud to start production ahead of plan at our first 50 MW warehouse in Rio Cuarto, marking our 10th mining facility and 4th country now in production,” Morphy said. He added that the company managed to secure attractive electricity prices established last year under an 8-year private party power contract for both facilities. Despite the rising commodity costs in the energy market around the world, Morphy said this would lower overall energy costs for its portfolio.

Marathon Digital stock price 

From a high of nearly $19 on August 10, shares of fellow miner Marathon Digital have since fallen to roughly $10.50. According to former investment advisor Gary Bourgeault, the company would be wise to hold onto its Bitcoin given the current depreciation. However, he said that if prices remained under pressure, the miner might be compelled to sell, but if the price of Bitcoin does not rebound, then losses could increase to “concerning levels.”

Yet, in spite of these challenges, Bourgeault highlighted that Marathon is rapidly increasing its exahash rate and believes it will reach 23 EH/s close to mid-2023, adding that a significant number of miners may offset some of its current losses. Since Marathon leverages the price of Bitcoin, Bourgeault added that a bump could boost it higher relative to its peers.

MicroStrategy holding Bitcoin

Meanwhile, business intelligence firm and prominent Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy has seen its shares fall, both in the past week and since last month. On August 15, MSTR was trading around $350, before falling to $250 within 10 days, hitting $210 by September. Despite a bump back to $260, it has since fallen below $200.

In the latest statement of its Bitcoin holdings last month, MicroStrategy reported last purchasing Bitcoin on June 28, some 480 for $10 million. This brought its total Bitcoin holdings to 129,699 for a total cost of $3.9756 billion, making the average purchase price for each Bitcoin $30,650. Although co-founder Michale Saylor has stepped down as CEO, the company has stated that they intend to raise more funds to continue pursuing its Bitcoin strategy.

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