Bitcoin miners had a strong start to 2023, with many companies reporting significant growth in their production and hashrate from December to January.
The Hashrate index, which said that it would release a monthly article summarizing the production updates of public miners, revealed that the rebound in mining stocks was due to the 40% increase in bitcoin prices in January.
While most public miners saw slower-than-expected growth in their hashrate in January, Cipher was an exception. The Texas-based company grew its hashrate by over 50%, reaching 4.3 EH/s and joining the ranks of the mega miners.
Meanwhile, Riot, another Texas-based mega miner, encountered headwinds with a decline in its self-mining hashrate from 9.7 to 9.3 EH/s due to a winter storm that damaged one of its facilities.
On the other hand, Core Scientific continued its positive streak of hashrate growth, increasing from 15.7 to 17 EH/s. Hive also saw substantial growth, with a 30% increase in its hashrate from 2.1 to 2.7 EH/s.
Bitcoin Production Surges In January: CleanSpark Sets New Record
The stabilization of electricity prices following a winter storm in December allowed miners to achieve higher uptime and production in January. CleanSpark saw a 50% increase in its bitcoin production, reaching an all-time high of 697.
Core Scientific remained the largest bitcoin producer, generating 1,527 BTC, followed by Riot with 740 bitcoin. Marathon also reported a 45% increase in its bitcoin production, reaching 687 BTC in January.
While growth is crucial for BTC miners, operating efficiency is often overlooked. The public miners’ bitcoin produced per EH in January revealed that Terawulf was the most efficient miner, squeezing out 112 bitcoin per EH.
CleanSpark, Hive, Iris Energy, Bit Digital, and Bitfarms also achieved solid efficiency, with three of these companies powered primarily by hydro. Argo and Riot struggled with achieving a high up-time.
The report emphasized the importance of operating efficiency, as miners will face challenges with achieving high up-time if electricity prices remain volatile and mining economics stay depressed.
With the break-even electricity price of mining near all-time lows, miners in volatile electricity markets may have to curtail operations, leading to lower efficiency and production.
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