2024

Bitcoin

April

Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital has announced it is increasing its 2024 hash rate target from 35-37 exahashes per second to 50 EH/s, citing expanded capacity after recent acquisitions.
“Given the amount of capacity we have available following our recent acquisitions and the amount of hash rate [...] we now believe it is possible for us to double the scale of Marathon’s mining operations in 2024,” <a href="https://ir.mara.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1355/marathon-digital-holdings-increases-2024-hash-rate-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">explained</a> Marathon’s CEO Fred Thiel.
Thiel said its target would be “fully funded” as there is no need for the firm to raise additional capital to achieve its new target hash rate.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/97fec157-3851-4ece-b555-c91827520848.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://x.com/MarathonDH/status/1783605573721694534" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Marathon Digital</a>
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The firm’s recent acquisitions include a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/marathon-purchase-200-mw-bitcoin-mining-center-applied-digital-87-3-million" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">200 megawatt Bitcoin mining center</a> purchased from Digital Applied for $87.3 million in March and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/marathon-buys-two-bitcoin-mining-operations-170m" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">two additional mining sites,</a> totaling 390 megawatts from Generate Capital for $179 million last December.
Marathon currently boasts a hash rate of 24.7 EH/s for its Bitcoin mining endeavours, with Core Scientific and Riot Platforms filling out the podium at 16.9 EH/s and 12.4 EH/s respectively, <a href="https://data.hashrateindex.com/stocks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to Hashrate Index.
If Marathon reaches its 50 EH/s target, it would mark more than a 100% increase in the firm’s hash rate since the start of 2024.
Marathon’s (MARA) stock fell 0.42% to $19.01 on April 25 but has rallied 4.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, <a href="https://www.google.com/finance/quote/MARA:NASDAQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to Google Finance.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/dedfb2b8-b332-412a-bcd8-8b4dffda674b.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Change in MARA’s share price over the last trading day. Source: Google Finance
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Marathon has increased more than 15% since the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-halving-2024-completion-confirmed" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">fourth Bitcoin halving event</a> occurred at block 840,000 on April 20 — an increase consistent with other miners in the industry.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/jack-dorsey-block-bitcoin-mining-system" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jack Dorsey’s Block announces development of ‘full Bitcoin mining system’</a>
While the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-halving-2024-how-to-keep-btc-mining-efficient-as-rewards-decrease" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">block subsidy halved to 3.125 Bitcoin</a> — worth $200,000 at current prices — miners benefitted from a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-fees-crash-after-daily-average-record-halving-day" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">record-setting $128 average transaction fee</a> on the halving day, earning more than they usually were pre-halving.
Much of the initial demand at block 840,000 came from memecoin and nonfungible token enthusiasts<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/runes-protocol-ignite-new-season-bitcoin-after-halving" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> competing to inscribe and etch</a> “rare satoshis” via the Runes protocol.
However, transaction fees have since fallen to $28.20, <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/bitcoin_average_transaction_fee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to YCharts, citing April 24 data.
Magazine:<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/get-bitcoin-or-die-tryin-why-hip-hop-stars-love-crypto/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto</a>

Bitcoin miner Marathon increases 2024 hash rate target to 50 EH/s

Cointelegraph

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