Marathon’s Bitcoin mining rate fell 9% in August

United States-based crypto mining operator Marathon Digital Holdings produced 1,072 Bitcoin (BTC) in August — 9% less than in July but five times more than in August 2022.

On Sept. 5, Marathon shared the unaudited BTC production and miner installation updates for August. According to the press release, the company increased its U.S. operational hash rate by 2% month-over-month to 19.1 exahashes in August, and it increased its installed hash rate by 1% month-over-month to 23.1 exahashes. The rise occurred due to the upgrade of Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro miners to more efficient S19 XP models.

Marathon reached its primary domestic growth target of 23 exahashes and now aims at 30 exahashes with two of them planned to be obtained through international facilities and 5 by contract from other entities.

Related: Marathon Digital Q2 results miss revenue and earnings forecasts

Right now Marathon is finalizing paperwork on its new mining facility in Garden City, Texas and its joint venture in Abu Dhabi mined 50 Bitcoin in August.

As to the relative decrease in BTC production, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel blames it on the climate conditions:

“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.”

Last month Marathon published its Q2 2023 financial results, claiming the increase of the revenue by 228% compared to the Q2 2022. The company reported a $23.4 million gain due to selling 63% of the Bitcoin mined in the quarter, used to fund operating costs. Impairment charges on the value of its held digital assets were $8.4 million.

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