Mining News in May：Tether Mega-Investment, Riot Wants to Acquire BitFarms, Canaan's New Models, sponsored by Bitdeer

Jun 05, 2024

Title sponsored by Bitdeer, a NASDAQ-listed mining company.

Bitdeer announces up to $150 million in private placement funding. Tether regard Bitdeer as one of the strongest vertically integrated operators in the Bitcoin mining industry, differentiated by its cutting-edge technologies, and a robust R&D organization. Tether anticipate close collaboration with Bitdeer across several key infrastructure areas moving forward. The transaction generated $100 million in gross proceeds from the share issuance and could provide an additional $50 million if the warrant is fully exercised.

Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms reports Q1 2024 financial results. Riot reported net income of $211.8 million and earnings per share of $0.82 which are new record highs for our quarterly results. Total revenues for the quarter were $79.3 million (mining revenues and engineering revenues), with mining revenues of $74.6 million, a total of 1,364 BTC produced and an average mining cost of $23,034. Working capital for the quarter was $692.5 million, including $688.5 million in cash on hand and 8,490 unencumbered BTC.

Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital has released its April operations report, reporting a total of 850 BTC produced during the month, an increase of 21% year-over-year. 600 BTC were sold in April to support monthly operations, manage finances, and for general corporate purposes. As of April 30, the miner held 17,631 BTC, and the total balance of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and Bitcoin dropped from $1.563 billion to $1.214 billion.

Marathon Digital reported it mined 2,811 bitcoin (about $176 million at current prices) during the first quarter of 2024. Marathon Digital boosted profits to $337.2 million, an 184% increase compared to the same period a year ago. Revenues climbed to $165.2 million, a 223% gain from the first quarter of 2023. Marathon Digital said it "sold 26% of the bitcoin it produced during the quarter to fund operating costs." The company's $1.6 billion in capital reserves includes cash, cash equivalents and bitcoin.".（The Block）

Core Scientific released unaudited production and operations updates for April 2024. Core Scientific earned 803 BTC in April from its owned fleet of miners. Core Scientific's total reserves total 3628 Bitcoin. The Company completed the deployment of its new Bitmain S21 miners. As of month-end, the Company operated approximately 224,000 bitcoin miners in our data centers for both self-mining and hosting, representing a total energized hash rate of 26.7 EH/s.

Core Scientific reported that it self-mined 2,825 BTC (over $175 million at current prices) during the first quarter of 2024. The company also reported a net income of $210.7 million, compared to a net loss of about $400,000 last year. Core Scientific also reported $179.3 million in total revenue. The company said it generated an adjusted EBITDA of $88 million.

On the heels of S&P Global announcing Marathon Digital would be added to a small-cap stock index, the bitcoin miner's shares rose by 18% on Monday, boosting the company's market capitalization by about $800 million. Marathon filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining an executive bonus structure for top executives worth as much as $32.9 million cumulatively. The three executives listed up for bonuses included Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, CFO Salman Khan and General Counsel Zabi Nowaid. Marathon Digital's stock is still down 9.8% in the year-to-date period.（The Block）

Bitdeer’s new Bitcoin miner brand SEALMINER A1, is now open for reservation. For every $0.99 you pay, you can unlock priority purchase rights and $100 credit towards your miner purchase. Bitdeer Sponsored.

Mining companies such as Bitfarms, Cipher, CleanSpark, Core Scientific, Riot, and Terawulf reported a production decline between 6 – 12% for April as the robust bitcoin fee market briefly hedged the halving’s impact. However, as the Runes boom wanes, it is expected that bitcoin production from major mining companies could drop significantly year-over-year in May.

Canaan Inc. launched the star product A 1566 of Avalon A15 series. A1566 model, with its 185T hashing power and 3420W power consumption.

CleanSpark, a US-based bitcoin mining company, announced its latest quarterly financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, with revenues increasing to $111.8 million, net income of $126.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $181.8 million. In addition, CleanSpark ended the quarter with $323 million in cash and $358 million in bitcoin.

10.

Bitdeer announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Total revenue was US$119.5 million. Net income was US$0.6 million, compared to a net loss of US$9.5 million in Q1 2023. Adjusted profit was US$8.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA was US$26.0 million. Cash and cash equivalents were US$118.5 million as of March 31, 2024. Mining machines under management was approximately 226,000 ASIC mining machines as of March 31, 2024. Self-mining business mined 911 Bitcoins in the first quarter of 2024. 总Total hash rate under management, which consists of proprietary hash rate and hosting hash rate, was 22.5 EH/s as of March 31, 2024.

11.

President Joe Biden issued an order blocking a China-majority-owned crypto mining company from having property close to an Air Force base in Wyoming, citing national security risks concerns. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviewed the transaction and found national security risks, including surveillance concerns, according to Treasury.

Biden further required the divestment of the property, which is one mile from the missile base Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, according to a statement released Monday from the U.S. Treasury Department. MineOne Partners Limited, which is majority owned by China, acquired the property in June 2022 and made changes to make room for a crypto mining operation, Treasury said.（The Block）

12.

El Salvador announced that the new additions, 473.5 bitcoins worth some $29 million since September 2021, were powered by a small amount of geothermal energy generated by the country's imposing Tecapa volcano. The country's "Bitcoin Office," an official government entity, reports that government coffers now hold 5,750 bitcoins, bringing the government's total bitcoin portfolio to nearly $354 million at current prices. The administration of Bitcoin enthusiast President Nayib Bukele, who earlier this year was reelected to a second term, has installed 300 processors to "mine" bitcoins from the volcano. Of the 102 megawatts (MW) produced by the state-owned power plant, 1.5 MW are devoted to cryptocurrency mining. Cryptocurrency miners Foundry USA, Antpool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, and Binance Pool pooled their resources to win a reward for opening a blockchain that can verify the last three years of bitcoin transactions originating from the power plant.

13.

Bitfarms recently doubled its contracted power capacity at its Yguazu site, in Paraguay, from 100 MW to 200 MW of stable, low-cost, sustainable hydropower. In April, Bitfarms received confirmation from the Canadian tax authorities that $24 million in previously paid value added taxes (VAT) will be refunded as will future payments. With the recoverability of the VAT, the average direct cost of production per BTC would have been reduced by $2,100 in Q1 2024. Sold 941 BTC at an average price of $52,700 for total proceeds of $50 million in Q1 2024 and sold 245 of the 269 BTC earned during April 2024, generating total proceeds of $16 million.

14.

Canaan Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Total Revenues of $35.09 Million, Including $23.44 Million in Product Revenues and $10.46 Million in Mining Revenues for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024; Net Loss of $39.39 Million, a 71.7% Decrease from the Year-ago Quarter; and for the First Time, the Company Exceeded 1,000 Bitcoin Holdings at 1,057 Bitcoin Holdings Canaan Says. Canaan said it is on the verge of large-scale deliveries of the Avalon A14 series and the launch of the A1566 model, and that customer advance receipts have nearly doubled compared to the end of 2023, with advance receipts being converted to revenue in the second and third quarters.

15.

Higher electricity demand in Laos due to cryptocurrency mining and erratic rainfall have led to power shortages, an advisor to its state-run utility said, revealing challenges to the nation's prospects as a hydropower exporter to Southeast Asia. A policy push to establish data centres in 2021 led to a boom in cryptocurrency mining, which now makes up over a third of Laotian power demand, while lower rainfall has curbed hydropower output, resulting in power outages, said Somboun Sangxayarath, an advisor at state-run Electricite Du Laos (EDL). Laos last year said it would not supply power to cryptocurrency projects that had yet to start operations.

16.

Bitcoin-listed miner and blockchain technology provider Phoenix Group has announced its first quarter financial results. First quarter net income reached $66.2 million, up 166 percent year-over-year; total assets increased 237 percent year-over-year, from $261 million to $879.3 million; total assets increased 5 percent sequentially; revenues increased 18 percent sequentially to $68.9 million; gross profit increased 82.8 percent sequentially to $23.28 million; and total consolidated revenues increased 312 percent year-over-year to $102.28 million; earnings per share were $0.011. Total consolidated revenues increased 312% year-over-year to $102.28 million, up 33.7% sequentially, and earnings per share were $0.011.

17.

The Venezuelan government recently announced that it is shutting down all of the country's bitcoin mines from the national power system due to frequent power outages and power rationing issues, as well as a digital platform fraud investigation against the national oil company PDVSA. Additionally, in a recent raid in the state of Aragua, the government seized 2,300 bitcoin mining machines.

18.

BitFuFu announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, total revenue was $144.4 million and net income was $35.3 million; the combined balance of cash, cash equivalents, and digital assets was $163.7 million; 1,103 BTC were self-mined in the quarter at an average mining cost of $39,000; and the total hashrate was 28.6 EH/s.

19.

Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital (MARA) struck a deal with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of Kenya to develop the African country's energy infrastructure with over $80 million in investments. The aim of the partnership is "monetizing underutilized energy across Kenya and jointly developing technology projects," Marathon chief executive officer Fred Thiel said. The investment will be in green data centers. The capital will include foreign investments without specifying sources of funds.（CoinDesk）

20.

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority in the UAE has issued a new advisory prohibiting the use of farms for cryptocurrency mining. Farmers caught engaging in such activities face fines of up to $2,722 (10,000 UAE dirhams). Despite this specific prohibition, the UAE has established itself as a supportive jurisdiction for Bitcoin mining. In 2023, data indicated that the UAE accounted for around 400 megawatts of Bitcoin mining capacity, representing 4% of the global hashrate.

21.

Riot Platforms made an unsolicited, $950 million offer to buy Bitfarms after the smaller Bitcoin miner rebuffed its takeover approach last month. Riot has offered to buy Bitfarms for $2.30 per share in cash and stock, equivalent to an equity value of $950 million, people familiar with the matter said. Riot, which believes that recent management changes at Bitfarms are indicative of problems with the company's governance, also plans to initiate a vote to increase the number of directors at the Canadian company.

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