Bitcoin miners Marathon, Riot, CleanSpark increase BTC output in September

Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark recorded strong Bitcoin production increases in September, leading to a small boost in share prices on Oct. 4.

The firmโ€™s balance sheets also strengthened despite Bitcoinโ€™s price (BTC) recording another month of sideways movement โ€” hovering between the $25,100 and $28,500 mark.

Marathon’s Bitcoin production rises 245%

Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital produced a total of 1,242 BTC in September โ€” a 16% increase from August and a massive 245% increase from September 2022.

The huge spike in BTC production came from a 508% increase in the firmโ€™s installed hashrate from 3.8 exahashes per second (EH/s) in September 2022 to 23.1 EH/s, according to Marathonโ€™s September results.

In the Oct. 4 statement, Marathonโ€™s CEO Fred Thiel said the firm was pleased to reach its goal of 23 exahashes on an installed basis. The United States-based firm says itโ€™s now on the lookout for new mining locations offering low-cost renewable energy:

โ€œWe are evaluating multiple opportunities for our next 5 exahashes of hash rate capacity including international locations with low-cost renewable energy.โ€

Marathon says it has now produced 8,610 BTC year-to-date in 2023. The firm’s balance sheet showsย 13,726 unrestricted BTC and $101 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet โ€” totaling $471.2 million.ย 

The firmโ€™s share price increased 3.29% to $7.54 on Oct. 4, according to Google Finance.

Riot Platforms ups BTC production too

Meanwhile, Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms increased its BTC production by 9% month-on-month, producing 362 BTC in September while “strategically curtailing mining operations.”

The firm is in a long-term contract whereby it sells pre-purchased power to its utility provider at market-driven spot prices in exchange for power curtailment credits.

Riot Platforms CEO Jason Lesย said the contract has continued to provide a strong revenue source for the firm:

โ€œBy strategically curtailing mining operations, we also received $11.0 million in Power Credits pursuant to our long-term power contracts with our utility provider, and $2.5 million in Demand Response Credits from participating in ERCOTโ€™s ancillary services program.โ€

The results show that Riot earned more from power curtailment credits than the net proceeds of its Bitcoin sales in August and September.ย 

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Meanwhile, Les said Riotโ€™s total self-mining hash rate capacity is currently at 12.5 EH/s, and the firm expects to bolster that figure to 20.1 EH/s once the firm installs another 33,000 next-generation Bitcoin miners in mid-2024.

Riotโ€™s share price increased 3.25% to $9.06 on Oct. 4, according to data from Google Finance.

CleanSpark records its โ€˜best quarterโ€™ and โ€˜best fiscal year everโ€™

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark produced 643 BTC in September and 6,903 BTC during its fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023 โ€” making it the companyโ€™s best performance to date, according to CleanSparkโ€™s CEO and President Zach Bradford.

โ€œWe had our best quarter and best fiscal year ever,” Bradford said in an Oct. 3 statement.

Bradford cited increased efficiency, low energy costs and its facilities running at max capacity as three of the main drivers behind the firmโ€™s record results.

CleanSparkโ€™s share price increased 4.61% to $3.63 on Oct. 4, according to Google Finance.

Bit Digital, which also released results on Oct. 4, was one of a few firms whose Bitcoin production fell in September โ€” recording a 7% fall to 130.2 BTC.

In an Oct. 4 statement, the firm attributed the fall to approximately 600 petahashes (per second) of miners dropping offline due to a power utility mandated maintenance outage on Sept. 26.

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