The Triumphant Return of Bitcoin Miners — Bitcoin Mining Landscape Overview

Data, trends, and insights in the Bitcoin mining industry

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin’s Surge Sparks Mining Hardware Frenzy with Prices Skyrocketing
• Bitcoin Miners Strike Gold: December 2023 Records Highest Rewards Since 2021
• CleanSpark Achieves Phenomenal 1,200% Growth in Bitcoin Holdings, Completes 150MW Expansion

Bitcoin Miners Strike Gold: December 2023 Records Highest Rewards Since 2021

Bitcoin miners experienced a highly lucrative month in December 2023, marking the most rewarding period since the market’s peak in November 2021.

📈 On-chain data reveals that mining rewards reached 36,657 BTC, with a significant portion (21.75%) attributed to transaction fees. The average market price of Bitcoin remained above $42,000, reaching a high of $44,000, resulting in total mining revenue exceeding $1.5 billion.

This figure, while slightly lower than November 2021’s $1.7 billion, signals a remarkable upswing.

December also saw Bitcoin’s average monthly hashrate surpass 500 EH/s for the first time, closing at 507 EH/s, in line with earlier estimates.

The unprecedented growth, doubling from the previous year, suggests a substantial $5 billion hardware investment and an additional 5.5 gigawatts of power capacity.

Public mining companies, particularly those with increased capacities and high hashrate realization rates, are anticipated to report strong December results.

Marathon, for instance, set a new record by receiving 1,765 BTC from 221 blocks mined by MaraPool alone, surpassing the previous monthly record held by Core Scientific in January 2022.

Bitcoin’s Surge Sparks Mining Hardware Frenzy with Prices Skyrocketing

Amidst Bitcoin’s recent market rally, the costs of cutting-edge mining hardware have surged, impacting both USD and BTC pricing.

💸 Bitmain’s Antminer S21, initially priced at $14/TH/s, now commands a 57% premium at $22/TH/s, paralleling Bitcoin’s 60% price hike. The Antminer S19K Pro has also seen an uptick, from $12/TH/s to $15/TH/s.

Public mining companies, investing over $600 million recently, face heightened expenses in the ongoing hardware arms race.

Stronghold Digital, for instance, spent $8.5 million for 0.6 EH/s of miners, at $14.2/TH/s, underscoring the rising costs for late entrants. The company, however, gains flexibility and increased production capacity.

Stronghold’s move contrasts with others who secured more efficient S21 miners at a similar price three months prior. Canaan’s Avalon A1466 miners, with an efficiency of 21.5 J/TH, are also in demand, priced at $12/TH/s with shipping expected around April.

With only a handful of months to go for the next halving, we can assume the miners’ hardware race will only heat up from here.

CleanSpark Achieves Phenomenal 1,200% Growth in Bitcoin Holdings, Completes 150MW Expansion

CleanSpark, a Bitcoin mining company based in Henderson, Nevada, concluded 2023 with an astounding 1,200% growth in its BTC treasury.

💰 The company reported mining over 7,300 bitcoins in 2023, marking a 60% increase from the previous year.

CEO Zach Bradford highlighted the record-breaking achievements, stating the bitcoin treasury expanded from 228 bitcoins to over 3,000 bitcoins.

With a month-end fleet efficiency of 26.4 J/Th, CleanSpark’s treasury, valued at approximately $135 million, holds 3,002 BTC as of December 31.

The company also provided an update on its 150MW Sandersville expansion, nearing completion with ten building structures and the arrival of necessary machines, including Antminer XPs. The expansion is set for energization in February.

CleanSpark’s recent success follows reports of its plans to launch an in-house trading desk in the coming year.

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