This is Why Marathon Digital Mined Less Bitcoins in August

Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings announced producing 1,072 BTC in August, which represented a drop of 9% from the previous month due to extreme weather conditions in Texas.

Despite the decrease in Bitcoin production, the figure is still five times more than in August of last year.

Marathon’s Bitcoin Production: August Edition

In its unaudited BTC production and miner installation updates for the month of August, Marathon Digital cited increased curtailment activity in Texas due to record-high temperatures as the reason behind the decrease in bitcoin production from July. Fred Thiel, Marathon Digital’s chairman and CEO, explained,

“The decrease in Bitcoin production from July was largely due to increased curtailment activity in Texas due to record high temperatures. These temporary shutdowns more than offset the progress we have made to increase our operational hash rate and optimize our operations.”

According to the official press release, Marathon Digital increased its US operational hash rate by 2% month-over-month to 19.1 exahashes in August while ramping up its installed hash rate by 1% month-over-month to 23.1 exahashes.

Thiel attributed the sequential increase to swapping BITMAIN S19 J Pro miners for more efficient S19 XPs. Currently, the Bitcoin mining firm is in the final stages of completing paperwork for its upcoming mining facility in Garden City, Texas, while its joint venture in Abu Dhabi successfully mined 50 Bitcoin in August.

The exec also revealed that Marathon Digital achieved its primary domestic growth target of 23 exahashes on an installed basis. He further added

“As we look to our next growth target, I am pleased to announce that we have secured miners in the ordinary course of business for the next 5 exahashes of hash rate growth.”

Having 23 exahashes installed within the country, with plans for an additional two exahashes internationally and a contracted capacity of five exahashes, Marathon Digital’s total expected hash rate upon full deployment stands at 30 exahashes.

Selling Spree

Marathon currently holds a total of 13,286 BTC. It sold 750 Bitcoin in August, worth around $193 million. The company plans to sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings in the upcoming months to support its monthly operations, manage its treasury, and cover general corporate expenses.

The company moved away from its ‘hodling’ strategy to cover operational expenses in January after more than two years. Marathon had disclosed a total exposure of over $80 million to bankrupt data center Compute North.