Bitcoin Miner Bitfarms Mines 411 BTC in September 2023

Bitfarms, a Canadian Bitcoin mining firm listed on NASDAQ and TSX under the ticker BITF, reported mining 411 BTC in September 2023, a 7.3% increase from August 2023. The company sold 362 of the mined BTC, generating total proceeds of $9.5 million. The remaining BTC are held in the company’s treasury, which as of September 30, 2023, amounts to 703 BTC, valued at nearly $20 million based on a BTC price of $27,000.

The increase in BTC mining is part of Bitfarms’ broader operational expansion. The company fully energized its Argentina facility at Rio Cuarto, increasing its capacity to 51 megawatts (MW). This expansion is significant as it brings Bitfarms’ total operating capacity to 233 MW, marking a 24% increase in 2023. The company also focused on improving its energy efficiency, achieving 36 w/TH with the introduction of new 28 w/TH miners. In September, Bitfarms installed S19 Pro + miners in Argentina, which nearly doubled the number of sub-30 w/TH miners in operation.

Bitfarms’ hashrate also saw an increase of 9% in September, reaching 6.1 exahashes per second (EH/s). However, this figure is slightly below the company’s Q3 2023 target of 6.3 EH/s. The shortfall is attributed to electrical infrastructure delays at Bitfarms’ Québec facility in Baie-Comeau. Despite these challenges, the company remains optimistic about its growth prospects. Geoff Morphy, the CEO of Bitfarms, stated that the company is focusing on infrastructure and balance sheet strength to provide the financial flexibility needed for aggressive growth, particularly around the next Bitcoin halving expected in April 2024. The Bitcoin halving event, which occurs approximately every four years, will reduce the Bitcoin miner block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, thereby increasing the costs of mining.

While Bitfarms posted a significant increase in mining production for September 2023, it’s worth noting that the firm’s mining pace is slightly lower compared to the same period in 2022. The amount of BTC mined in September 2023 was 14.6% lower than the BTC mined in September 2022. Year-to-date, Bitfarms has mined 3,692 BTC, whereas in 2022, the company generated 3,733 BTC over the same period.

The company also reduced its total outstanding indebtedness by $1.9 million, bringing the remaining balance to $9.9 million as of September 30, 2023. This debt reduction aligns with the company’s strategy to strengthen its balance sheet in anticipation of the next Bitcoin halving.

In the broader context, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty experienced a 2.7% month-over-month increase in September. This surge indicates that Bitcoin miners are anticipating higher BTC prices and are investing in capacity accordingly. According to some estimates, BTC mining difficulty will drop by 0.7% at its next automated readjustment, which was scheduled for October 2, 2023.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / /

Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.: 4 States Attract The Most Miners

Dataset from Foundry shows that four states in the U.S. have the highest Bitcoin hash rate distribution. The dataset shows that many Bitcoin miners are headed to New York, Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas.

Foundry U.S. is the largest mining pool in North America and the fifth-largest globally. The hash rate is a measure of collective mining power. A mining pool enables miners to combine their hashing power with other miners all over the world.

Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.

According to the data, within the U.S., New York accounts for 19.9% of bitcoin’s hash rate, 18.7% in Kentucky, 17.3% is in Georgia, and 14% in Texas.

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

Bitcoin hash rates U.S.

Bitcoin hash rates U.S.


Source: Foundry U.S.

At the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on October 8, 2021, Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, presented Foundry’s data. “This is the first time we’ve actually had state-level insight on where miners are unless you wanted to go cobble through all the public filings and try to figure it out that way,”

He added that “This is a much more efficient way of figuring out where mining occurs in America.”

Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!

However, Carter pointed out that the Foundry dataset does not consider all the U.S. mining hash rates as not all U.S.-based mining farms use its services. One of the largest publicly traded mining companies in America,

Riot Blockchain, with a huge presence in Texas, does not use Foundry. Therefore, the dataset does not account for its hash rate. Texas’ mining presence is understated and could possibly be higher than the 14% quoted.

BTCUSD chart on TradingView.com

BTCUSD chart on TradingView.com


BTC trading at over $55K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Many of the states with the highest Bitcoin hash rates also have high proportions of renewable energy. This fact may have started changing the narrative that bitcoin is bad for the environment.

Related Reading | $425bn Wiped Off Crypto Market As Musk Says Bitcoin Is Bad For The Environment

According to CNBC, a lot of the miners are moving to these states because they have cheap and renewable sources of power. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that a third of New York’s in-state generation comes from renewables sources. Kentucky, which has the second-highest hash rate, is also known for its hydroelectric and wind power. The state’s government recently passed a law that grants certain tax exemptions to crypto mining operations.

Carter also said that the migration of miners to the U.S. is positive because it means much lower carbon intensity.

Texas Leads Bitcoin Mining

Although Texas ranks fourth according to the data, experts believe it is the top mining destination in the U.S. The state houses mining giants like Riot Blockchain, and the Chinese mining service platform Bitdeer.

A report from earlier this year shows that large orders for mining ASICs are also being delivered to Texas.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Mining Moves to Texas, Bitmain Announces Partner for Massive New Facility

Crypto-friendly lawmakers, a deregulated power grid with real-time spot pricing, and access to significant renewable energy, as well as stranded or flared natural gas, are what make Texas attractive to miners, according to CNBC.

Featured image by Finance Magnates, Chart from TradingView.com

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Data Shows Nearly 90% of Bitcoin Has Been Mined, Here’s How Long It Will Take To Mine The Rest

Bitcoin mining is still one of the hotly debated parts of the blockchain. Miners, no doubt make a good amount for blocks mined given the current price of BTC. But mining difficulty has also gone up as more BTC are mined.

In its decade-long history, over 18.6 million of Bitcoin’s 21 million total supply has been mined. This constitutes almost 90% of all BTC’s supply. This leaves a little over 10% of BTC left to be mined. Currently, there are about 2.250 million coins left to be mined.

Related Reading | Market Analyst Sees Bitcoin Peaking At $100,000 By Year-End

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

At the current rate, it is estimated that the last bitcoin will be mined about 120 years from now. This is due to halving events that will occur every four years, reducing the supply of BTC going into circulation every four years.

Mining Bitcoin In 2009 Versus Mining In 2021

The cryptocurrency which first came out in 2009 had rewarded miners 50 bitcoins for each block that they mined. This was back when a user could mine bitcoin using an old laptop with a crappy graphics card. At this point, bitcoin was worth next to nothing. So a lot of miners either forgot their coins or sold them for very cheap. Bitcoin’s price evolution through this point is an interesting time.

Related Reading | Crypto Has Arrived In Hollywood And The Stars Are Loving It!

Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!

In 2021, three halving events since the launch of the digital currency has seen reward for block mined reduce drastically. The first halving occurred in 2012. At this point, the reward for a block was 25, reducing it by half. The next halving occurred in 2016, which reduced the reward to 12.5. The most recent halving happened in 2020, which reduced the number of bitcoins received per mined block to 6.25.

The reward will continue to halve every four years until all 21 million BTC are mined. Every halving will reduce the rewards for mined blocks by half every time. Making the rewards for mining blocks smaller, while simultaneously increasing the mining difficulty as miners clamor to get the rewards for mined blocks.

BTC Growth Over The Years

The pioneer cryptocurrency didn’t draw too much attention until the Silk Road bust happened. Before the Silk Road was launched, BTC was only used by people who were in it for the technology. The returns were not really significant at this point. These of BTC on Silk Road as a way to purchase literally anything, from drugs to weapons, is what really made law enforcement turn its focus on the coin.

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com


BTC started to see significant growth in 2017 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

BTC’s price remained mostly flat around this period, despite its increased popularity, thanks to the Silk Road bust. The most notable bull run happened in 2017-2018. This was when a lot of investors had heard about bitcoin. The bull market brought BTC to the forefront as a strong asset to contend with.

Related Reading | Bitcoin At $100,000, Ethereum At $5,000 Is Path Of Least Resistance, Says Bloomberg Crypto Analyst

In 2021, it is estimated that about 10% of the current world population are invested in either BTC or altcoins. Current numbers are put between an estimated 51 and 52.4 million crypto investors in the world. Compared to an estimated 2.9 to 5.8 million in 2017, this is tremendous growth.

Featured image from OptinMonster, chart from TradingView.com

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / /

Signs the Bitcoin hashrate is starting to move away from China

Although the majority of Bitcoin mining is still based in China, there are signs it is beginning to shift elsewhere.

Chun Wang, the co-founder of one of Bitcoin’s largest mining pools, F2Pool, reported that China represented less than half of its hash rate during April 2020. Wung noted it was the first time the pool had seen Chinese miners represent a minority of hash rate in its eight years of operation. “The shifting is real,” he said.

Wang reposted data published April 22 by Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert, which revealed that the U.S.-based Bitcoin mining pool, Foundry, had climbed to rank among the top 5 pools globally during April, commanding a 7.6% share of the hashrate.

“Bitcoin hashrate is quickly shifting from China to North America,” Silbert claimed. The leading pool remains AntPool, which is operated by Chinese mining hardware manufacturer Bitmain, with an 18.6% share of the total hashrate.

The University of Cambridge calculated that China’s mining dominance was around 65% in April 2020.  Noting those figures in January 2021, BTC mining publication Miner Daily estimated China’s share had fallen to 55% of BTC hashing power by the start of this year, with the U.S. accounting for 11%.

On April 30, Cointelegraph reported that China’s crypto mining operations may be set for stricter regulations in the future, which could further fuel the country’s hashrate exodus. China has also recently been examining miners’ power usage in light of its own carbon commitments.

In late February, it was reported that authorities of the Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia proposed closing down all local mining facilities to reduce energy consumption in the region. The region accounts for as much as 8% of global hash.

In an article on May 5, Bitcoin podcast host Marty Bent said that the F2Pool findings are a confirmation of a trend in the mining world of hashrate production becoming more geographically distributed.

He added that this would help dissipate some of the “China controls mining” FUD surrounding the potential for the country’s central government to attack the network.

“It is great to have some data coming from Chinese pools that proves the percentage of overall hashrate production is being reduced within China’s borders.”

The FUD surrounding Bitcoin’s energy consumption and environmental impact may also reduce as more mining operations switch to renewable energy, especially in the U.S. which has tighter regulations.

According to a Nasdaq report on May 4, Texas has become a mecca for Bitcoin mining farms due to its low energy costs and the fact that the majority comes from renewables such as wind and solar.