Bitfarms, a major player in the Bitcoin mining world, has reported a substantial 21% increase in Bitcoin (BTC) production for June 2024. This notable growth comes at a crucial time as the company fights off a hostile takeover attempt from Riot Platforms.
Production Highlights and Challenges
In June, Bitfarms mined 189 BTC, marking a 21% rise from the previous month. The company sold 134 of these Bitcoins for around $8.8 million, leaving it with 905 BTC worth approximately $57 million. Despite this month’s growth, production has dropped by 51% compared to June 2023. This decline is primarily due to the Bitcoin halving event in April, which halved the block rewards for miners.
The Bitcoin halving, occurring roughly every four years, reduces the number of new Bitcoins created and earned by miners, which aims to control the overall supply until the total reaches 21 million coins.
Expansion and Operational Updates
Bitfarms saw its installed hashrate reach 11.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) in June, with 10.4 EH/s actively in use. This represents a remarkable 96% increase from last year and a 39% jump from May. The company has ambitious plans to ramp up its hashrate to 21 EH/s by the end of 2024.
However, June brought some challenges, including severe weather that affected mining operations at the Paso Pe facility in Paraguay. Despite this, a slight 0.8% decrease in network difficulty from May helped keep things running smoothly.
Chief Mining Officer Ben Gagnon shared:
“We’re making great strides with our fleet upgrades and new facility developments. We’ve added over 39,000 new miners and retired an equal number of old ones this year. Upgrades across our Quebec facilities are complete, enhancing our hashrate and energy efficiency.”
Bitfarms has also expanded its footprint in the U.S. with a new 120-megawatt site in Sharon, Pennsylvania. This facility is set to add up to 8 EH/s to Bitfarms’ mining capacity, pushing its projected total to over 35 EH/s by 2025. By then, the company’s power capacity is expected to grow to 648 megawatts, a 170% increase from its current level.
Internal Struggles with Riot Platforms
In a significant development, Riot Platforms made a $950 million offer to acquire Bitfarms in mid-June but was unsuccessful. Riot did manage to secure a 14.9% stake in Bitfarms by June 24, though it was blocked from increasing its share. Riot also tried to replace three members of Bitfarms’ board of directors, but these efforts were thwarted.
In response, Bitfarms has strengthened its board by appointing Fanny Philip, a blockchain and finance expert, as an independent member. This move aims to reinforce the company’s position against Riot’s takeover efforts, with four out of five board members now being independent.
As Bitfarms continues to fend off Riot Platforms’ takeover attempts, it remains focused on expanding its mining operations and infrastructure. The company is working with various financial and legal advisors to enhance shareholder value and address the ongoing conflict.
The Bitcoin mining sector is seeing increased interest due to rising demand for computational power, with notable investments like Coatue Management’s $150 million in Hut 8.
