Originally published in Miner Weekly, the weekly Bitcoin mining and data analysis newsletter from BlocksBridge Consulting, in association with TheMinerMag. Subscribe for weekly updates!
An earlier edition of Miner Weekly projected that leading Bitcoin mining entities in North America were set to collectively control 100,000 BTC by March.
Despite market fluctuations last month, the combined Bitcoin holdings of 14 publicly traded and private mining firms adhering to a Bitcoin reserve strategy exceeded 101,000 BTC at February’s close, marking a new high.
This increase is primarily attributed to substantial investments from major mining and data center operators like MARA, Riot, Hut 8, CleanSpark, Core Scientific, and Cango. These companies are either purchasing Bitcoin directly from exchanges using funds secured via debt and equity financing, or consistently retaining a substantial portion, if not all, of their monthly Bitcoin production.
Data from TheMinerMag indicates that prominent publicly listed mining companies raised $6.37 billion during the previous quarter. Stock offerings contributed $1.6 billion, while debt financing, mainly through the issuance of convertible bonds with zero coupon rates, accounted for the remaining $4.6 billion.
For comparison, these companies raised just $1.7 billion in Q3, consisting of $1.2 billion from equity sales and $500 million through debt. While Q4 saw similar amounts raised from shareholder dilution, significantly more debt was acquired. Overall, they obtained $5.27 billion in debt funding throughout 2024, with 87% of that arriving in the final quarter.
Given the recent decline in Bitcoin’s hashprice—daily revenue per unit of computing power—falling below $50/PH/s and reaching $45/PH/s amidst market instability, it will be critical to observe how these financial strategies evolve, particularly for companies utilizing colocation services.
For instance, Cango, the Chinese automobile financing company that transitioned to Bitcoin mining, reported a Q4 Bitcoin production cost of approximately $67,769 per BTC. This translates to a fleet hashcost of $42/PH/s, according to TheMinerMag’s analysis.
With Bitcoin’s hashprice at $46/PH/s, this is generating minimal gross profit. The company is likely banking on future Bitcoin appreciation to improve their return on investment. This strategy necessitates covering significant upfront operational costs without liquidating mined BTC. In Q4, Cango spent $63.2 million to mine 933.8 BTC—excluding depreciation and amortization—almost double the combined revenue generated over the four quarters before their strategic pivot to Bitcoin mining.
Hardware and Infrastructure News
- Bitdeer Announces 9.7J/TH Efficiency Results in A3 Bitcoin Chip Evaluations – TheMinerMag
Corporate News
- Stone Ridge, NYDIG’s Parent Company, Sues Mawson for Alleged Theft of $30M in Bitcoin Mining Hardware – TheMinerMag
- CleanSpark Set to Join S&P SmallCap 600 Index Despite Share Price Decline Correlated with BTC Movements – The Block
- JPMorgan Predicts Publicly Traded Bitcoin Mining Operations Will Increase Their Share of BTC Network Hashrate – The Block
- Bitdeer Significantly Increases BTC Holdings Year-to-Date – Decrypt
Financial News
- CoreWeave Signs $11.9 Billion Agreement with OpenAI Before Potential IPO – Reuters
- Canaan Obtains $200 Million Investment for Bitcoin Mining Expansion in the United States – TheMinerMag
Feature
- Analyst Perspectives on Bitcoin Miners’ Transition to AI and Chip Production – Decrypt
- Rising Utility Costs Impact New Yorkers Exploring Greener Energy Options – NYT
- Exploring Bitcoin Mining Opportunities in Australia – The Mining Pod