Bitcoin mining firms Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms have reported their strongest Bitcoin production figures since the April halving, with both companies attributing much of their October output growth to increased hash rates. This milestone marks a substantial recovery for these miners, who initially faced reduced revenues when miner rewards were cut in half earlier this year.
In October, Marathon produced 717 BTC, valued at around $48.8 million. CEO Fred Thiel credited this growth to a 14% increase in the company’s energized hash rate, which rose above 40 exahashes per second (EH/s). Higher transaction fees also contributed to Marathon’s output, accounting for roughly 5% of the company’s overall BTC production. Notably, Marathon’s proprietary mining pool, MARAPool, along with its private mempool Slipstream, earned an additional $400,000 in Bitcoin from two high-fee transactions.
Despite a 3% decrease in block wins due to heightened network difficulty, Marathon achieved this record-breaking monthly production, signaling a strong recovery trajectory since the April halving, which reduced block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Riot Increases BTC Output with Expanded Hash Rate
Similarly, Riot Platforms saw its Bitcoin production rise by 22.6% month-over-month, generating 505 BTC in October, valued at approximately $34.4 million. The firm attributed this increase to a higher hash rate, which grew to 29.4 EH/s, up from 28.2 EH/s in September. Riot’s Corsicana facility in Texas, where new MicroBT miners were recently installed, played a central role in this production boost.
Despite these positive production results, Marathon (MARA) and Riot (RIOT) shares fell on November 4, with Google Finance data showing decreases of 3.79% and 4.87%, respectively.
Hash Rate Goals Remain on Track
Riot and Marathon have outlined ambitious targets to further increase their hash rates. Riot plans to reach 34.9 EH/s by the end of 2024 and aims to achieve 100 EH/s by 2027 if it fully utilizes its option to purchase additional MicroBT miners. However, Riot’s immediate hash rate goal was adjusted to 39.4 EH/s due to slower-than-expected development at its recently acquired facilities in Kentucky.
Marathon remains confident about its target to achieve a hash rate of 50 EH/s by 2025, stating that it is “within sight” despite the fluctuations in BTC network conditions.
This October milestone highlights how major Bitcoin miners are adapting to the post-halving landscape, leveraging increased hash rates and infrastructure to drive production and offset the reduced rewards from each mined block.
