The Bitcoin mining difficulty reduced by an average of 0.8% in June, which saw the Bitcoin price end the month 7% lower than in May, closing at $62,678 on June 30, 2024.  This decline in Bitcoin price has seen the Bitcoin Hash price drop to all-time-low levels reaching$43 per PH/day, on July 5, 2024.

Bitfarms announce Ben Gagnon as the new CEO

On July 8, 2024 Bitfarms (BITF) announced the appointment of Ben Gagnon as Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect, proving to be a popular choice with retail investors and the sector as a whole.  Having previously spent the previous 5 years, most recently as the Chief Mining Officer, Gagnon has been a key figure in the leadership team, significantly contributing to its growth and positioning in the Bitcoin mining industry.

The Board praised his expertise and strategic vision, anticipating further expansion into areas like energy generation and high-performance computing (HPC) for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The new CEO has expressed excitement about leading the team and planning for future opportunities, including the 2028 halving event.

Core Scientific to deliver additional HPC Infrastructure to CoreWeave

The market has acknowledged the predictable revenue streams and profit margins associated with HPC and AI, with many Bitcoin miners keen to utilize a proportion of their power for these services.  A number of the miners who have announced their intention, in this sector, have seen their share price reflect this, in recent weeks.

On June 25, 2024, Core Scientific (CORZ) announced an additional 70 MW contract, of power and infrastructure, to support its HPC hosting client, CoreWeave. The new increased contract will effectively deliver $3.375 Billion of profit over the initial duration of 12 years.  There is also the potential for a further two, 5-year contract extensions, that can be applied.  The company has now achieved 54% of its goal to allocate 500 MW of power to their HPC business.  

Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR)

On June 28, 2024, Bitdeer secured up to 570 MW of additional power capacity through a 30-year lease with the Monroe County Port Authority at the Hannibal Industrial Park in Clarington, Ohio.  This strategic partnership increases the company’s capacity to 2.5 GW enhancing its infrastructure for Bitcoin mining, HPC and AI. The first 266 MW will be available by Q3 2025, with the remaining 304 MW under review. This expansion supports the company's growth ambitions and operational capabilities.

Bitdeer mined 179 Bitcoin during the month of June at a daily rate of 6 Bitcoin, an increase of 0.5% on the daily rate achieved in May.  The energized hash rate increased to 7.3 EH/s as some of their miners previously utilized in their cloud hash rate service transitioned into their self-mining service.  

The company has 895 MW of power under their management with a further 1,645 MW of pipeline capacity in Norway, Bhutan, Ohio and Texas that are expected to be coming online during the next 2 years.

Bit Digital (BTBT)

On June 25, 2024 Bit Digital announced it has secured an agreement to increase its supply of  GPUs to an existing customer over a three-year term, delivering approximately $275 million in revenue ($92 million annually) over contract duration.

To fulfill this HPC contract, the company ordered an additional 256 Dell servers equipped with 2,048 Nvidia HGX H100 GPUs, taking their total to 4,096.  The new equipment is expected to be delivered in July 2024 and operational in Iceland by August 2024, financed through cash, digital assets, and a sale-leaseback agreement for 1,024 GPUs. This new agreement takes them closer to achieving their $100 million annualized revenue target by 2024's end. The Company earned an estimated $4.1 million in revenue from this contract during the month of June 2024.

Bit Digital mined 62 Bitcoin in June, achieving an average daily rate of 2.1 Bitcoin, a 0.7% increase from the previous month. The company achieved an operational hash rate of 2.57 EH/s, during the month.

During the month of June, Bit Digital converted a significant portion of their Bitcoin holdings into Ethereum.  There is a strong likelihood that The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve multiple spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the week commencing July 22, 2024.

As of June 30, 2024, their treasury holdings include 585.9 Bitcoin and 29,927.9 Ethereum, valued at $139.8 million. Additionally, the company held $60.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, bringing their total treasury value to $200.6 million.

In June, Bit Digital staked 17,184 Ethereum, earning a 3.5% annual percentage yield, achieving 49.8 Ethereum in staking rewards for June.

Bitfarms

On June 13, 2024, Bitfarms agreed to develop up to 120 MW of power capacity and lease a site in Sharon, Pennsylvania, within the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM), the largest U.S. electricity market. This strategic expansion will optimize energy costs and support Bitcoin mining. Expected to boost 2025 power capacity to 648 MW, the project will enhance Bitfarms' geographical diversification and provide additional revenue through demand response programs.  The site is well suited for high intensity computing beyond Bitcoin mining, including HPC and AI services.

In June the company produced 189 Bitcoin, at an average daily rate of 6.3 Bitcoin, an increase of 25.2% on the rate achieved in May.  Bitfarms made significant progress in fleet upgrades and new facility construction, installing over 39,000 new miners and replacing an equal number. With a total hash rate of 11.4 EH/s now installed and 10.4 EH/s operational, the upgrades in Quebec have boosted efficiency. In Paraguay, Paso Pe now contributes 2.5 EH/s despite weather-related delays.  The company is expected to achieve its H1 target hash rate of 12 EH/s in the coming weeks.

Bitfarms sold 134 Bitcoin during the month and added 55 to their hodl which now total 905 Bitcoin with a valuation of $56.7 million.  The company also held a cash balance of $139 million providing a solid treasury position as the company looks to achieve its target of 21 EH/s by the end of the year.

Core Scientific

In June, Core Scientific secured HPC hosting contracts for 270 MW of infrastructure, with potential revenue exceeding $4.7 billion over 12 years, signaling a major expansion. CEO Adam Sullivan has also highlighted there are ongoing client engagements for the remaining 230 MW, including CoreWeave’s non-exclusive option. The company also expanded its Denton, Texas data center by 72 MW, increasing its total operational infrastructure to 832 MW and enhancing mining efficiency whilst exploring further site acquisitions.

Core Scientific mined 430 Bitcoin in June at a daily rate of 14.3 Bitcoin, a reduction of 0,6% on the rate achieved during May.  The company operated around 164,000 owned bitcoin miners, constituting about 80% of the miners in its data centers, with a total hash rate of 19.4 EH/s. To support HPC hosting expansion, miners are being relocated from HPC-designated data centers, with approximately 1 EH/s in migration by the end of June.

On July 8, 2024, with the share price having held above $7.79 for 20 consecutive trading days, Core Scientific announced the mandatory conversion of its outstanding Secured Convertible Notes due 2029.  Following the conversion of the Notes, approximately 45 million shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate will have been issued in exchange for $260 million of convertible debt, removed from the balance sheet.

On July 10, 2024, Block, Inc. and Core Scientific announced a landmark agreement to deploy Block's advanced 3-nanometer ASIC mining chips. This significant deal aims to decentralize and innovate bitcoin mining, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Led by Block's Proto team, the collaboration will contribute approximately 15 EH/s  to Core Scientific's operations.

On July 12, 2024, Core Scientific announced the satisfaction of the "TEV Triggering Event," making tranche 2 warrants (CORZZ) exercisable until January 23, 2029. The 81,927,898 warrants, each exercisable into 1 share of Company common stock at an exercise price of $.01 per share, became exercisable on July 11, 2024, after meeting the volume weighted average trading price (VWAP) condition.

This is a great achievement for the company, having emerged from Chapter 11, less than 6 months ago.  CEO Adam Sullivan attributed this milestone to the company's strong operating and trading performance and strategic diversification.

DMG Blockchian (DMGI)

DMG Blockchain produced 24 Bitcoin in June at a daily rate of 0.8, an increase of 7.8% on the rate achieved in the previous month.  This was due the operational hash rate increasing from 0.94 EH/s to 0.98 EH/s and the company achieving a monthly mining utilization rate of 93%.

CEO, Sheldon Bennett noted the company’s progress with the deployment of 4,550 new Bitmain T21 miners, expecting full energization, this month. Despite the summer heat, hashrate declines have been modest due to new infrastructure improvements, ensuring more stable performance. DMG Blockchain aims to enhance its mining fleet to reach a near-term hashrate goal of 1.7 EH/s and beyond.

The company sold 9 Bitcoin, representing 38% of their production, in June, adding 15 to its treasury hodl, now totalling 464 Bitcoin, with a valuation of $29 million, as at June 30, 2024.

Gryphon Mining (GRYP)

Gryphon Mining, certified as 100% renewable and pursuing a negative carbon strategy, produced 22 Bitcoin during the month of June, at a daily rate of 0.7 Bitcoin, an increase of 3.3% on the rate achieved in May.  This total helped the company achieve a new company record with a quarterly hashrate of 899 PH/s in Q2/24, reflecting a 20% increase over Q2/23.

The company was also able to set a record monthly performance in energy efficiency at 28.5 j/TH, in June.  Gryphon achieved a bitcoin mining efficiency of 25 Bitcoin per EH/s, maintaining a top-tier performance since operations commenced in September 2021. Gryphon has ranked first or tied for first in publicly available bitcoin efficiency scores in 52% of the months since its inception.  The company held approximately 16 bitcoins in its treasury as of the end of June 2024 with a value of.

Gryphon Mining remains focused on evaluating growth options, having reviewed over 20 opportunities with extensive due diligence, including legal analysis and site visits. The company is optimistic about future prospects and aims to pursue opportunities that meet its strict selection criteria, emphasizing accretion and meaningful impact. The company is also considering potential HPC Operations operations in its growth plans, evaluating all potential opportunities for their HPC potential.

On July 1, 2024, having made its debut on the Nasdaq exchange, Gryphon Mining was included into the Russell Microcap Index. Microcap stocks, by definition, possess market capitalizations substantially lower than those of large-cap or mid-cap stocks. For the Russell Microcap Index, the stocks included generally have market capitalizations ranging from approximately $50 million to $300 million.

Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE)

HIVE Digital mined 119 Bitcoin during the month, at an average daily rate of 4 Bitcoin, an increase of 3.2% on the amount achieved in the previous month.  The company maintained an average mining capacity of over 4.7 EH/s, demonstrating robust operational efficiency and capability, reaching 25.3 Bitcoin per EH/s, the highest tota per EH/s of all the publicly listed North American miners.

Aydin Kilic, President and CEO, confirmed the upcoming shipment of 2,150 S21 Pro miners. These new additions will elevate the company’s total operational hashrate to 5.5 EH/s with a global fleet efficiency of 24.5 J/TH. The installation of these miners is expected to be completed by the end of July, further enhancing HIVE's mining capacity and efficiency.

HIve Digital sold 74 Bitcoin, representing 62% of the monthly production and added 45 Bitcoin to its hodl, increasing the total held in treasury by 2% to 2,496 Bitcoin, with a value of $156 million as at June 30, 2024.  Frank Holmes, Executive Chairman, praised the company's efficiency and strategic Bitcoin accumulation, highlighting their achievements in maintaining low G&A costs and minimal shareholder dilution.

Hut 8 Corp. (HUT)

On June 24, 2024, Hut 8 secured a $150 million investment from Coatue Management via a convertible note agreement. The five-year note, with an 8% annual interest rate and a conversion price of $16.395 per share, strengthens Hut 8's position in the AI infrastructure market.  On July 1, 2024, Hut 8 Corp closed the convertible note.

In June the company mined 109 Bitcoin, at an average daily rate of 3.6 Bitcoin, an increase of 23.8% on the daily rate achieved in May, in part due to an increase in their operational hash rate from 5.5 EH/s to 5.7 EH/s.  

Hut 8 sold 107 Bitcoin in June, representing 98% of the monthly production and added two Bitcoin to it hodl treasury, currently at 9,105 Bitcoin with a valuation of $571 million as at June 30, 2024.

Hut 8 joined the Russell 3000 Index following the 2024 Russell U.S. Indexes reconstitution, on July 1, 2024. This inclusion, based on market capitalization rankings, enhances Hut 8's liquidity and visibility, aligning with its goal of maximizing shareholder value. The Russell indexes are benchmarks for approximately $10.5 trillion in assets.

On July 9, 2024, the company announced it had secured a power purchase agreement and definitive agreements for a West Texas site, providing 205 MW of power and land. This is the first transaction from the 1,100 MW development pipeline.  The site is adjacent to a wind farm and connected to the ERCOT grid, offering low wholesale power pricing.  Engineering for a new data center is underway. This deal exemplifies the company's strategic partnerships and will increase its energy infrastructure to 1.3 GW upon closing.

IREN (IREN)

IREN produced 233 Bitcoin during the month, at an average daily rate of 7.8 Bitcoin, an increase of 4.7% on the rate achieved in the previous month. The company experienced a slightly lower operating hashrate in June, at their Childress site, in Texas, due to participation in the 4CP program during the summer months, which is expected to yield annual power cost savings of 0.5 cents per kWh. This reduction also resulted from power sales, ERS demand response, and activities related to equipment commissioning.  The company highlighted the cost of power to mine, equating to $39,466 per Bitcoin, providing a post halving gross margin of 41%.  

Having achieved its H1 2024 growth strategy to 10 EH/s more than a month earlier than planned, IREN is now aiming to reach 20 EH/s by September 30, 2024 and 30 EH/s by the end of the year. This image below highlights the construction currently taking place at the Childress site which is due to increase from 100 MW of operational power to 350 MW by December 31, 2024.

IREN’s AI Cloud Services, featuring 816 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, including 504 GPUs contracted with Poolside AI, have seen a 21% revenue increase in June due to higher utilization and the onboarding of new customers. This growth reflects the company's expanding service capabilities in the reserved and on-demand markets.

The company has now built a treasury position totaling $425.3 million in cash, the majority of which has been raised through the proceeds from shares sold before that date. Between May 15 and June 28, $413.4 million was raised from selling 39.8 million shares. The company retains $223.2 million in at-the-market (ATM) capacity, with 186,830,776 shares outstanding.

Riot Platforms (RIOT)

On June 24, 2024, Riot Platforms requisitioned a special meeting of Bitfarms Ltd. shareholders to reconstitute the Bitfarms Board of Directors. The company, holding 14.9% of Bitfarms, sought the removal of Chairman and Interim CEO and any new appointees. Riot Platforms nominated John Delaney, Amy Freedman, and Ralph Goehring as independent candidates to improve corporate governance and shareholder confidence.

In June, Riot Platforms mined 255 Bitcoin and significantly boosted its hash rate capacity by 7.3 EH/s, reaching a total of 22.0 EH/s, surpassing its Q2 2024 goal of 21.4 EH/s. This achievement was enabled by the deployment of latest-generation MicroBT miners at its Corsicana and Rockdale facilities. Riot also reported a combined power cost of 2.6c/kWh across both facilities, earning $6.2 million in power credits in June. Additionally, Riot completed the first 100 MW building at Corsicana and made substantial progress on the second building. The flexible power strategy, involving participation in ERCOT’s 4CP program, continues to provide significant cost savings and operational efficiency.

The company sold 5 Bitcoin during the month, representing 2% of the production, adding 250 Bitcoin to their hodl, totalling 9,334 Bitcoin and valued at $585 million as at June 30, 2024.  This hodl is now the second largest, with Marathon Digital currently holding 18,536 Bitcoin in their Treasury.

SATO Technologies Corp. (SATO)

During the month of June, SATO mined 11 Bitcoin, at an average daily rate of 0.4 Bitcoin, a reduction of 12.6% on the rate achieved in May.  This was predominantly caused by a fire that occurred at Center One, which affected the mining equipment, causing the average operational hash rate to reduce from 530 PH/s to 440 PH/s, a reduction of 17% since the end of May 2024.   The company had an all-in electricity cost of $47,623, representing a gross mining margin of 24%.

The company sold 18 Bitcoin representing 164% of the monthly production to cover operational and capital costs.  SATO has a hodl totalling 55 Bitcoin, valued at $3,418,539 and cash of $629,119, providing a total treasury position of $4,047,658, as at June 30, 2024.

Soluna Holdings (SLNH)

On June 24th, the company launched its Soluna Cloud business and entered into agreements with its Strategic OEM Partner to secure NVIDIA GPUs for Generative AI workloads. This initiative is expected to generate between $38million and $80 million in revenue over the next three years. The company also announced the closure of a $12.5 million secured credit facility to fund the GPU contract and startup costs for Soluna Cloud. This funding marks a significant step in supporting the company's growth and operational needs. As at June 11, 2024 enterprise customers and Generative AI labs now have access to the initial batch of NVIDIA GPUs.

Soluna Holdings produced 17 Bitcoin in the month of June, at an average daily rate of 0.6 Bitcoin, a reduction of 2.4% on the rate achieved in May.  

Project Dorothy 2 (50 MW) is scheduled to commence construction by late July, with commissioning of the Bitcoin hosting buildings set for 6, 9, and 12-month milestones. The power partner’s approval process is in its final stages, and Spring Lane's definitive financing documentation is nearing completion.

Project Kati, which will utilize 166 MW of pipeline energy, is advancing, with ERCOT planning progressing through new key study revisions and ongoing negotiations with landowners for site land leases.

As of July 8th, Convertible Loan Note Holders have reduced their balances from $7.7 million to $4.5 million by converting to common shares. Warrant holders have also exercised $2.0 million, increasing the company's common shares issued and outstanding from 3,921,503 as of May 9th, 2024, to 5,381,104 as of July 8th.

TeraWulf (WULF)

TeraWulf produced 177 Bitcoin during the month of June, at an average daily rate of 5.9 Bitcoin, a reduction of 1.7% on the rate achieved during the previous month. With one of the lowest power costs across North America, TeraWulf was able to mine Bitcoin at a power cost of $32,373, representing a gross mining margin of 51%.

As of June 30, 2024, TeraWulf's total operational infrastructure capacity was 245 MW, with a self-mining hash rate of approximately 8.8 EH/s. In June, TeraWulf's miners operated at an average of 7.1 EH/s, influenced by the late installation of S21 miners, demand response events, and performance tuning to maximize profitability. The Nautilus facility experienced temporary performance reductions due to increased temperatures, which the team mitigated by modifying filter designs to enhance airflow.

The Lake Mariner team completed Building 4 ahead of schedule and is currently installing and activating approximately 10,000 of Bitmain’s latest S21 and S21 Pro miners. Once fully deployed this will increase the company's  total operating capacity to over 10.0 EH/s. Significant activity continues at Lake Mariner with the commencement of construction on Building 5, which will add an additional 50 MW of infrastructure capacity.

TeraWulf's future expansion includes a 2 MW AI/HPC digital infrastructure pilot at Lake Mariner and a 20 MW colocation pilot project, supporting 16 MW of critical IT load with liquid cooling and Tier 3 data center redundancy, expected to be completed by Q4 2024.

Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) metrics

In June, Hive Digital topped the productivity charts by achieving a total of 25.3 Bitcoin per EH/s, setting the benchmark for the industry. Close contenders included Gryphon Mining, IREN, and TeraWulf, all of whom showcased impressive performance. Notably, the top ten miners were closely matched, each surpassing the 24 Bitcoin per EH/s mark, reflecting a highly competitive landscape.

Year-to-date (YTD) metrics highlighted Bitfarms as the leading North American miner, though Hive Digital, SATO Technology, and IREN are closing the gap, indicating a dynamic shift in market positions. This suggests a potential for increased competition and shifts in rankings as the year progresses.

In terms of utilization, Bitdeer Technologies led with a remarkable 98% utilization rate. Hive Digital and Gryphon Mining followed closely, achieving 98% and 97% utilization, respectively. This high level of utilization underscores the efficiency and operational excellence of these leading firms, setting a high standard for the industry.