September 2024 - Monthly Operational Updates
The month of September witnessed the global hash rate continue to rise, with more machines coming onto the network and mining difficulty reaching an all-time-high of 92.6716T, providing added pressure on Bitcoin Miners production. To alleviate this pressure, the Bitcoin price ended the month at $63,330, a 7% increase on the closing price for the month of August 2024.
Bitcoin Miners prepare for scaled High Performance Computing operations
With the majority of North American Bitcoin Miners are looking to pivot some of their power assets towards High Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) business services, the market has been eagerly waiting for a second large contract to be announced, since the one Core Scientific (CORZ) and CoreWeave agreed to a 382 MW HPC hosting contract, earlier this year.
However, recent news updates suggest that a number of miners are clearly preparing the groundwork for similar large-scale hosting services, as demand for HPC and AI continues to increase.
On October 15, 2024, Cipher Mining (CIFR) announced option agreements to acquire three sites in West and North Texas from Juvo Energy, targeting 500 MW of capacity per site. These sites, adjacent to key transmission assets, are in the final stages of approval for interconnection, with the option to be exercised within 24 months. The purchase price will depend on the approved megawatt capacity. The company has clearly indicated the use of the sites for HPC data centers or Bitcoin mining, enhancing their HPC hosting capabilities and long-term supply chain visibility.
On October 16, 2024, IREN (IREN) announced strong growth in its AI Cloud Services division, projecting $32 million in annualized hardware profit by December 2024, by doubling AI capacity with additional NVIDIA H200 GPUs. However, the news that the 1.4GW substation timeline has been brought forward by 6 months to April 2026, which includes the securing of an additional 800 acres, takes the company’s landholding to over 1,300 acres for future HPC/AI and Bitcoin Mining operations, suggests they are preparing for a much larger scaled contract.
TeraWulf (WULF) announced on October 10, 2024, a new 35-year ground lease agreement at Lake Mariner, expanding the site by nearly 50% to 157 acres, with exclusive access to 750 MW of infrastructure capacity. This lease, replacing the original 2021 agreement, which had 10 years less to run and now also includes an option to extend by a further 45 years, supports TeraWulf's expansion into high-performance computing (HPC) and AI data centers.
Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR)
In the month of September Bitdeer mined 164 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 5.5 Bitcoin, an increase of 2.1% on the rate achieved in the previous month and due to the increase in self-mining hash rate to 8.1 EH/s.
The company also highlighted advancements in mining rig manufacturing, AI cloud services, and data center expansion. Mass production of the SEALMINER A1 mining rig is on track for Q4 2024, expected to add 3.4 EH/s to Bitdeer’s hashrate. The SEAL02 chip, with 13.5 J/TH efficiency, is set for mass production in November, with SEAL03's development progressing. Bitdeer’s AI cloud services, powered by NVIDIA DGX SuperPod systems, achieved near 100% utilization. Hosting operations saw a 0.3 EH/s hash rate increase, driven by efficient machines in Texas. Data center expansions in Norway, Texas, and Bhutan are on schedule for late 2024 and early 2025 completion.
Bitdeer has a significant amount of power with access 895 MW, currently, across their site with a further pipeline of 1,645 MW, the majority of which are at sites in progress and due to be completed over during 2025.
Bit Digital (BTBT)
BitDigital continues to make a strategic shift towards HPC with a $46 million acquisition of a Tier 3 data center in Montreal. This marks a pivot from Bitcoin mining, aiming to diversify revenue streams into more stable, higher-margin opportunities. The Montreal facility offers immediate access to the HPC market without the challenges of greenfield development, enhancing BitDigital’s ability to provide co-location and on-demand computing services.
Additionally, BitDigital may consider separating its Bitcoin mining and HPC businesses, allowing for focused capital growth in the HPC sector, which promises more predictable cash flows and aligns with the company's evolving technology strategy.
In September Bit Digital generated $4.2 million in revenue from 256 servers under its initial AI contract. It also produced 51.5 Bitcoin, at a daily rate of 1.7 Bitcoin, a reduction of 0.3% on the rate achieved during August, with an active hash rate of 2.43 EH/s.
As of September 30, Bit Digital held 731.3 Bitcoin and 27,388.9 Ethereum valued at $46.3 million and $71.3 million, respectively. Total liquidity, including cash and digital assets, stood at $222 million. The company also staked 21,568 Ethereum, earning a 3.3% APY and generating 57.9 ETH in rewards during the month.
Bitfarms (BITF)
On September 13, 2024, Bitfarms announced a hosting agreement with Stronghold Digital Mining to deploy 10,000 Bitmain T21 miners, adding approximately 2.2 EH/s to its capacity at Stronghold’s Panther Creek site. Additionally, the company reached a settlement agreement with Riot Platforms (RIOT) ahead of its rescheduled shareholder meeting.
In September, the company produced 217 Bitcoin, at a daily rate of 7.2 Bitcoin, a reduction on the rate achieved in August, due to a 1.2% increase in Bitcoin difficulty. However, Bitfarms highlighted a 16% increase in energy efficiency after upgrading equipment and implementing efficiency measures. CEO, Ben Gagnon, noted that the company achieved its year-end target of 21 w/TH three months early, improving profitability under current mining economics.
The company sold 173 of the 217 Bitcoin earned, generating total proceeds of $10.5 million as part of its regular treasury management practices. The company's total liquidity reached $146 million, including $73 million in cash as of September 30, 2024. Bitfarms added 44 Bitcoin during the month, increasing its treasury holdings to 1,147 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $73.4 million based on a Bitcoin price of $64,000. The company also holds a Synthetic HODL™ of 602 long-dated Bitcoin call options as of September 30, 2024.
Additionally, the employment dispute with the former CEO has been settled, allowing the company to focus on its growth strategies.
Core Scientific
Core Scientific highlighted significant advancements in its transition toward HPC in its September operational update, with CEO, Adam Sullivan, emphasizing the company's commitment to modifying its data centers to provide nearly 400 megawatts of digital infrastructure for HPC.
During the month, Core Scientific successfully migrated all ASIC miners from two designated Bitcoin mining data centers and is actively removing the remaining infrastructure to facilitate the conversion.
The company has also begun work on a substation at its Muskogee site in Oklahoma, where a new 100-megawatt data center is planned. Additionally, the expansion of its 100-megawatt Pecos site, Texas, Bitcoin mining data center remains on track. The company aims to provide powered infrastructure equipped with advanced liquid cooling systems for AI GPU cloud workloads, targeting a launch for HPC customers in the first half of 2025.
As of September 30, 2024, Core Scientific operated approximately 198,000 Bitcoin miners, achieving a total energized hash rate of 23.4 EH/s. The company produced 345 Bitcoin from its self-mining fleet, which consists of around 175,000 owned miners, at a daily rate of 11.5 Bitcoin, a reduction of 0.4% on the rate achieved during the previous month.
Core Scientific also offered hosting services for approximately 22,000 customer-owned Bitcoin miners, which generated an estimated 66 Bitcoin during the month. Notably, the company reduced power consumption at its data centers on multiple occasions, delivering 45,262 megawatt-hours to local electrical grids.
DMG Blockchain (DMGI)
On September 19, 2024, DMG Blockchain announced it had received U.S. Patent No. 11,810,103 for its Custom Mempool Protocol, designed to enhance the processing of cryptographic events. This innovative system enables applications to send events to hashing processors using a custom protocol, ensuring that only events meeting specific criteria are processed, which improves security and privacy.
CEO, Sheldon Bennett, stated that the patent reinforces the company’s commitment to secure digital asset solutions and is a crucial component of their Core+ strategy, particularly within their Petra technology, aimed at financial institutions and ordinal artists in a carbon-neutral environment.
During September, DMG Blockchain produced 23 Bitcoin, averaging 0.8 Bitcoin per day, which represents a 13.2% increase from the previous month. This growth is attributed to the successful energization of its Bitmain T21 mining fleet, which has raised the total operating hashrate to approximately 1.6 EH/s, with a target of reaching 1.7 EH/s. This achievement underscores the company's commitment to effective resource management and fleet optimization to enhance operational efficiency and shareholder value. Additionally, the company is transitioning around 0.15 EH/s of its mining fleet to a third-party hosting provider in Canada to further improve operational flexibility.
DMG Blockchain holds 436 Bitcoin with a valuation of $27.6 million.
Gryphon Mining (GRYP)
Gryphon Digital Mining announced its unaudited operational update for September and achieved an average hashrate of 920 PH/s, a 4% increase compared to August 2024, and produced approximately 19.31 Bitcoin, at a daily rate of 0.6 Bitcoin, a reduction of 0.2% on the rate achieved in August, projecting revenues of around $1.16 million based on an average Bitcoin price of $60,286.
The company also highlighted significant leadership changes and operational performance. Steve Gutterman has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, with Jimmy Vaipoulos serving as Chairman and Sim Salzman continuing as Chief Financial Officer.
Gryphon Mining is exploring a pipeline of low-cost opportunities that could potentially exceed 500 MW in power capacity. In his statement, CEO Steve Gutterman emphasized the company's strategic focus on organic revenue expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and enhancing margins through competitive energy costs. He aims to build a high-performance team dedicated to executing the company's vision, thereby maximizing shareholder value.
The company’s mining fleet demonstrated high operational efficiency, achieving a 98.7% uptime in September, one of the highest utilization rates of all the North American public miners, up from 97.3% in August, thanks to effective maintenance practices. Notably, its Northeastern U.S. operations remain fully electrified by zero-carbon emitting hydropower, reflecting the company’s commitment to sustainable operations.
As of the end of September, Gryphon held approximately 9.6 Bitcoin, with a value of $0.6 million in its treasury, indicating a robust position in the cryptocurrency market.
Hive Digital (HIVE)
HIVE Digital mined 112 Bitcoin in September 2024, at a daily rate of 3.7 Bitcoin, an increase of 3.3% on the rate achieved in August, achieved with a strong mining capacity of over 5.3 Exahash per second (EH/s) and ending the month with 5.6 EH/s.
The company sold 75 Bitcoin and increased its holdings by 1.4%, reaching a total of 2,604 Bitcoin, with a value of over $165 million as of September 30, 2024, highlighting its strong enterprise value in comparison to peers.
Executive Chairman Frank Holmes noted the company's productive month, including significant participation in blockchain events across Europe and continued growth in Paraguay. HIVE aims to represent 2% of the global Bitcoin mining network by 2025, producing approximately 9 Bitcoin daily.
President and CEO Aydin Kilic emphasized HIVE’s focus on upgrading its fleet, currently operating at 128 MW. The replacement of older models with S21 Pro units is expected to reduce Bitcoin production costs to around $28,500, improving operational efficiency.
In Sweden, HIVE plays a vital role in grid balancing, with its proprietary software allowing rapid adjustments in power usage, ensuring essential services like hospitals remain operational during critical moments. HIVE’s flexibility not only supports local infrastructure but also promotes sustainability.
Financially prepared, HIVE recently filed a $300 million Base Shelf Prospectus to fund upgrades and expansion. The company’s At-The-Market (ATM) offering, managed by Stifel, is expected to bolster HIVE’s growth, with Stifel’s expertise positioning HIVE to enhance its market presence and attract new investors.
HUT 8 Corp (HUT)
Hut 8 Corp. reported significant operational milestones for September 2024, emphasizing its growth in both Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure. The company managed 19.5 EH/s of mining capacity, with a clear path to 33.5 EH/s. During the month, Hut 8 produced 72 Bitcoin at a daily rate of 2.4 Bitcoin, a 14.5% decrease from the previous month. The company sold 71 Bitcoin, adding 1 Bitcoin to its treasury, which now holds 9,106 Bitcoin, valued at $577 million.
Hut 8 announced a partnership with BITMAIN to host next-generation DLC-cooled ASIC miners, aiming for a 15 EH/s hosting deployment at its Vega site in Texas by H1 2025. This partnership is expected to generate approximately $135 million in annualized hosting revenue, with an option to expand self-mining capacity to 20 EH/s.
CEO Asher Genoot reaffirmed Hut 8’s focus on innovation, positioning the company for further growth in Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. Additionally, Hut 8’s GPU-as-a-service subsidiary, Highrise AI, Inc., fully operationalized its 1,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, marking a key revenue-generating milestone.
On the financial front, Hut 8 converted a $38 million loan from Anchorage Digital into equity at $16.395 per share, representing a 51% premium to the company's 20-day VWAP. This move strengthens its financial flexibility. Furthermore, Hut 8 remains on track to complete the Ionic Digital Cedarvale site by December 2024, enhancing its capabilities in both AI and Bitcoin mining.
IREN
IREN produced 347 Bitcoin during September at a daily rate 11.6 Bitcoin, an increase of 46.4% on the rate achieved in August and due to the company over-achieving its target capacity of 20 EH/s and actually reaching 21 EH/s with a current fleet efficiency of 16 j/TH, the lowest of all the publicly traded North American Miners.
The company remains on track to deliver 31 EH/s by Q4 2024 and further deliveries of Bitmain S21 XP miners (13.5 J/TH) have commenced, with the remaining shipments scheduled for October and November, supporting an illustrative annualized hardware profit of $336 million.
Revenue increased by 42% to $21.4 million in September, driven by the ramp-up of mining capacity. The electricity cost per Bitcoin decreased by 21% to $23,600, thanks to improved fleet efficiency and the growing contribution of the Childress facility, where electricity costs stood at 3.2c/kWh.
IREN achieved significant progress across its Bitcoin mining and AI cloud services in September, and although revenues were lower due to the re-contracting of Poolside capacity, which has now been largely completed, seven deals were closed following the contract end, serving 10 customers since inception.
Looking ahead, the Childress Phase 2 (100MW) is now complete, with Phase 3 (150MW) expected to finish in Q4 2024. Phases 4 to 6 are planned for 2025 and beyond, with civil works and long lead-item procurement ongoing. IREN continues to enhance its operational capacity across data centers and digital infrastructure.
Riot Platforms (RIOT)
Riot Platforms mined 412 Bitcoin during the month of October, at a daily rate of 13.7, an increase of 32.2% on the rate achieved in the previous month and due to the increase of energized hash rate to 28.2 EH/s, enabling the company to achieve its Q3 target, on time.
This growth occurred despite participation in ERCOT's Four Coincident Peak (4CP) program, where the company paused operations during peak grid demand to contribute to grid stability. Riot's flexible power strategy enables it to curtail usage during high-demand periods, optimizing operational costs and supporting grid efficiency.
Significant progress was made at Riot Platforms’s Corsicana Facility, with the completion of Building B1, a 100 MW structure. Development of the fourth 100 MW building, B2, is underway and expected to be fully operational in November 2024, further boosting hash rate and operational efficiency.
The Corsicana project is advancing Phase 1 of development, aiming for a total of 1 gigawatt (1,000 MW) in mining capacity. As part of planned maintenance, the Corsicana Facility temporarily powered down in early October but has since resumed normal operations. Riot’s ongoing infrastructure development and strategic power management ensure sustained growth and cost savings, aligning with the company’s commitment to efficiency and grid collaboration.
The company added 408 Bitcoin to its treasury, currently totalling an impressive 10,427 Bitcoin, with a valuation of $660 million as at September 2024.
Soluna Holdings (SLNH)
Soluna produced 15 Bitcoin during the month of September, at an average daily rate of 0.5 Bitcoin, a reduction of 8.8% on the rate achieved in August, due to the reduced operational hash rate of 709 PH/s.
On September 16, 2024, Soluna Holdings announced the signing of term sheets for power and land for Project Rosa, a new 187 MW data center in Texas. Co-located with a 240 MW wind farm, Project Rosa will harness renewable energy to support AI, machine learning, and Bitcoin hosting. This project marks a key milestone in Soluna’s expansion and commitment to sustainable computing solutions.
Soluna is making significant progress in expanding its data center and Bitcoin hosting infrastructure. Project Dorothy 1A (25 MW Bitcoin Hosting) and 1B (25 MW Bitcoin Prop-Mining) successfully completed the 4CP program in September, meeting all demand requirements through the MaestroOS™ control system. Optimization efforts, including insulation, heat shielding, and cooling improvements, have further enhanced performance and reliability.
At Project Dorothy 2 (48 MW Bitcoin Hosting), site grading is nearing completion, with civil construction moving forward. Concrete pads are being installed, and all essential power infrastructure is already in place. The substation interconnection work is set to begin in December, ensuring the project remains on track for its operational launch.
In the AI cloud space, Project Grace (2 MW at Dorothy 2) has started the concept design for its Helix platform, while Project Ada (1 MW AI Cloud with HPE) is progressing with six proof-of-concepts either completed or in progress. High demand for additional GPUs highlights growing market interest.
Additionally, Project Sophie (25 MW Bitcoin Hosting and AI Hosting) continues to operate efficiently, while Project Kati (166 MW Bitcoin Hosting and AI) advances through land lease negotiations and meter design proposals, setting the stage for future capacity growth.
TeraWulf
In September 2024, TeraWulf mined 176 Bitcoin, averaging 5.9 Bitcoin per day, a slight decrease of 1.2% from August. The company’s operational self-mining capacity held steady at approximately 10.0 EH/s, representing a 100% year-over-year increase. The average power cost per Bitcoin mined was $35,109, at a rate of $0.042/kWh, excluding proceeds from demand response and ancillary services. To boost performance, TeraWulf is implementing PSU replacements and ventilation upgrades at its Lake Mariner facility, specifically in miner building 3 (MB-3).
In September, TeraWulf's operations at Lake Mariner achieved an average hash rate of 8.2 EH/s, with demand response measures and performance tuning strategies enhancing overall profitability.
A key milestone was reached in October when TeraWulf sold its 25% equity interest in the Nautilus facility for $92 million. The company plans to reinvest the proceeds into the construction of its 20 MW CB-1 facility at Lake Mariner. According to Sean Farrell, Senior VP of Operations, the sale accelerates TeraWulf's expansion of its high-performance computing (HPC) and AI data center capabilities. The CB-1 facility is on track to be operational by Q1 2025, while preparations are underway for CB-2, a 50 MW AI/HPC facility, slated for completion by early Q2 2024.
Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) metrics
In September, TeraWulf led the industry in productivity per hash rate, achieving 21.5 Bitcoin per EH/s, closely followed by Bit Digital, Soluna, Hive Digital, and Riot Platforms. Year-to-date (YTD), Bitfarms remains the top North American miner in production per EH/s, demonstrating consistent performance. However, TeraWulf, Hive Digital, IREN, and DMG Blockchain are narrowing the gap, with only a 1.28% difference separating the top six miners.
In terms of utilization, Bitdeer reported the highest rate at 98%, followed by Hive Digital, Gryphon Mining (both at 98%), DMG Blockchain (96%), and IREN (94%).
This month, a new metric has been introduced to the summary table: Bitcoin mined per MW. This metric is crucial for assessing operational efficiency and resource utilization. Bit Digital achieved the highest Bitcoin production per MW with 1.06, followed by IREN at 0.96, CleanSpark at 0.88, and TeraWulf at 0.72.
