Bitcoin reaches milestone of $100,000
Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time on Thursday 5 December, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the realm of digital assets and even recognized by some of the largest skeptics.
This surge was fuelled by the nomination of pro-crypto Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission by President-elect Donald Trump.
The overall cryptocurrency market value has nearly doubled this year, exceeding $3.8 trillion. Industry leaders, including Mike Novogratz, CEO and Founder of Galaxy Digital (GLXY) are heralding this moment as a transformative shift in finance, with Bitcoin's ascendance creating a new asset class and popularizing decentralized finance.
Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR)
On November 22, 2024, Bitdeer announced a private placement of $360 million in 5.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029, targeting qualified institutional buyers. An additional $40 million was also subsequently purchased by initial buyers, taking the total to $400 million. The notes, which will mature on December 1, 2029, feature a semi-annual interest payment beginning June 1, 2025, and an initial conversion rate of 62.7126 Class A shares per $1,000 principal.
The company anticipates net proceeds of approximately $348.2 million for data center expansion, ASIC mining rig development, and general corporate purposes. Additionally, Bitdeer plans to engage in a zero-strike call option transaction and is considering exchanges for existing 2029 notes.
In November the company mined 150 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 5.0 Bitcoin, a reduction of 10.9% on the rate achieved in the previous month. The company has established a Hodl of 443 Bitcoin, valued at $43 million as at November 30, 2024.
Bit Digital (BTBT)
During the month of November, Bit Digital has been highlighting significant developments in its GPU cloud revenue and high-performance computing (HPC) services. In its HPC data center, Bit Digital serviced 13 customers, generating approximately USD $503.5k in colocation revenue. The company has also secured substantial contracts for GPU supply, including a deal worth $5 million for 512 H200 GPUs over six months and another valued at $10.1 million for 576 H200 GPUs over twelve months.
As of November 30, 2024, the company operated 266 servers equipped with 2,128 GPUs, generating approximately $4.3 million in GPU cloud revenue for the month.
Bit Digital produced 44.9 Bitcoin during November, at an average daily rate of 1.5 Bitcoin, a reduction of 11.1% on the rate achieved during the previous month, although the active hash rate increased by 3.3% to approximately 2.51 EH/s.
The company’s treasury holdings included 813 Bitcoin and 27,563 Ethereum, valued at 180.1 million, as at November 30, 2024. Bit Digital also reported cash and cash equivalents of $151.3 million, bringing their total liquidity to approximately $332.5 million.
The company also had 21,568 Ethereum staked in native protocols, earning a blended annual percentage yield of 3.4%, which resulted in approximately 59.9 Ethereum in staking rewards for the month, valued at $220,205.
Bitfarms (BITF)
On November 20, 2024, after a Special Meeting held with shareholders, Bitfarms were successful in approving the increase of Board members from 5 to 6 and the election of Andrew J. Chang to its Board of Directors with 98.65% of the votes represented. With 20 years of experience in the technology sector, Mr. Chang is a distinguished investor and entrepreneur. He was a founding partner at Liberty City Ventures and served as COO at Paxos, where he significantly expanded the team and raised $500M. He also held key roles at Google and Kantar Video. Mr. Chang holds an MBA from NYU and a BS from Boston College. He expressed enthusiasm for helping Bitfarms navigate its next growth phase.
In November Bitfarms mined 204 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 6.8 Bitcoin, a reduction of 10.7% on the rate achieved in October. The company finally increased the operating hashrate of 12.8 EH/s, bolstered by the deployment of miners at Stronghold Digital Mining’s Pennsylvania sites, a target was effectively due to be achieved in H1 2024.
By mid-2025, nearly 75% of Bitfarms' hashrate is expected to originate from North American data centers, underscoring the company’s commitment to U.S. expansion and supported by the the company upgrading nearly 19,000 T21 miners to S21 Pro miners, enhancing operational efficiency by 10% to 19 w/TH.
Chief Executive, Ben Gagnon, emphasized the strategic alignment of their miners with electricity economics, which positions Bitfarms to capitalize on the growing demand for HPC/AI and Bitcoin mining.
The company sold 171 of the 204 Bitcoin mined for $14.6 million and added 33 Bitcoin to its treasury, totaling 870 Bitcoin valued at $84.4 million as of November 30. Bitfarms also holds 584 long-dated Bitcoin call options, down from 802 the previous month.
Bitfarms also announced the resignation of Chief Infrastructure Officer Benoit Gobeil, which was effective at the end of November. Gagnon commended Gobeil's contributions and expressed confidence in a smooth transition while seeking a successor with HPC, AI, and U.S. data center expertise.
Core Scientific (CORZ)
On November 18, 2024 Core Scientific and CoreWeave announced that they have officially broken ground on a new high-performance computing data center in Port Muskogee. This state-of-the-art facility, with a capacity of 100 megawatts, will host NVIDIA GPUs for an undisclosed client and is expected to enhance Muskogee's status as a hub for AI computing. Core Scientific CEO, Adam Sullivan, praised the collaboration with local leaders and emphasized the project's potential to boost the economy, creating approximately 150 jobs with average salaries over $65,000. The data center is projected to generate $182 million in local net benefits and become operational in 2026.
During the month of November, Core Scientific mined 314 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 10.5 Bitcoin, a reduction of 12.1% on the rate achieved during the month of October, operating with 165,000 owned Bitcoin miners delivering a hash rate of 19.3 EH/s. The company sold 272 Bitcoin during the month for proceeds of $23.2 million.
On December 3, 2024 the company released the pricing of its $550 million offering of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2031, increased from the previously announced $500 million. This private offering is directed at qualified institutional buyers and notes, which will mature on June 15, 2031, will not bear regular interest and are set to settle on December 5, 2024. Core Scientific plans to use the net proceeds, estimated at approximately $535.6 million, for general corporate purposes, including working capital and potential acquisitions.
DMG Blockchian (DGMI)
DMG Blockchain Solutions reported in November, that it had successfully mined 32 Bitcoin during the month, demonstrating a slight decrease from 34 Bitcoin in October 2024, achieving a utilisation rate of 96%. However, the company continued to improve its hashrate, reaching 1.66 EH/s compared to 1.53 EH/s in the previous month. Additionally, their total Bitcoin holdings held in treasury, increased to 423 Bitcoin, up from 399 Bitcoin in October, after selling 8 Bitcoin.
DMG Blockchain is focused on refining its operations to enhance mining efficiency, with plans to equip its Christina Lake property to accommodate six Bitmain hydro containers and the first 1 megawatt of Bitmain S21 Hydro miners. This strategic move is part of DMG's broader initiative to boost its operational capabilities and increase its overall hashrate.
CEO Sheldon Bennett remarked that November was a pivotal month for the company, marked by the successful closure of a $17.3 million unit offering, which significantly strengthened the Company’s financial position. This funding will facilitate the purchase of additional mining equipment, including five megawatts of Bitmain S21+ Hydro miners, positioning DMG to achieve a hashrate of 2.1 EH/s by early 2025. Furthermore, the capital raised will support investments in Systemic Trust and initial AI infrastructure developments, allowing DMG Blockchain to hold its Bitcoin reserves and align with its optimistic market outlook. Additionally, achieving SOC 2 Type II compliance underscores the Company's commitment to security and operational excellence.
Gryphon Mining (GRYP)
On December 10, 2024, Gryphon Mining entereds into a definitive agreement to acquire natural gas assets in insolvency from Erikson National Energy Inc. in Northeast British Columbia. This strategic move aims to enhance Gryphon's competitive advantage in Bitcoin mining and AI operations by securing significant power-generating assets, which include hundreds of wells with over 5 trillion cubic feet of contingent resources.
The acquisition, valued at CAD $2 million plus additional obligations, is expected to enable initial operational capacity of 100 MW, with potential expansion up to 1 GW. CEO Steve Gutterman highlighted the importance of sustainable energy and community engagement, noting that while the agreement is a promising step, successful closure depends on obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. Once developed, the asset is expected to produce energy for less than $0.03 KWH.
In November, Gryphon Mining mined 17.3 Bitcoin, at a daily rate of 0.6 Bitcoin per day, achieving 94% mining utilisation and generating estimated revenues of $1,487,580 at an average Bitcoin price of $86,165. The total energy costs were $1,160,935, with an average mining cost of $67,244 per Bitcoin equating to $0.0605 per kWh. This resulted in a margin of $326,647 (21.96%). As of November 30, estimated cash on hand was $545,000, with 18.4 Bitcoin valued at $1.78 million.
Hive Digital (HIVE)
Hive Digital reported strong performance in November, mining 103 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 3.1 Bitcoin, a reduction of 9% on the previous monthly daily rate, due to the impact of mining difficulty and with November having one day less mining. The company maintained an average mining capacity of 5.3 EH/s, reaching a peak of 5.7 EH/s, with fleet efficiency at 22.3 j/TH and producing 19.4 Bitcoin per EH/s. November saw the company regain 1st position on the year to date production by EH, deposing Bitfarms, by the smallest of margins.
As of November 30, 2024, Hive Digital held 2,713 Bitcoin in their treasury, representing a 67% year on year growth and valued at $263 million, based on a Bitcoin price of $96,951
The company announced plans to expand its mining capacity to 15 EH/s by summer 2025, backed by the recent acquisition of 11,500 Avalon ASIC miners and 8.6 EH/s of Bitmain's S21+ Hydro machines. This investment, funded through its equity program, positions Hive Digital for over $300 million in annual revenue and $200 million in mining margin based on current economics.
Executive Chairman Frank Holmes emphasized the significance of these advancements in achieving Hive Digital’s target of capturing 2% of the global Bitcoin network. President and CEO Aydin Kilic highlighted the focus on efficiency, stating the new fleet will lower production costs and maximize margins, reinforcing Hive Digital’s commitment to eco-conscious operations and delivering exceptional shareholder value.
HUT 8 Corp (HUT)
On December 4, 2024, Hut 8 highlighted three key capital market updates to strengthen its financial strategy. The company introduced a $500 million “at-the-market” (ATM) equity program, enabling the sale of common stock to fund growth initiatives, including power and digital infrastructure, Bitcoin acquisitions, and other corporate purposes. Additionally, Hut 8 launched a $250 million stock repurchase program, allowing the repurchase of up to 4.68 million shares (5% of outstanding stock) over the next 12 months.
Hut 8 also secured consent from Coatue Tactical Solutions regarding the stock repurchase program, aligning with a newly filed shelf registration statement. CEO Asher Genoot emphasized these initiatives as critical tools for navigating market volatility, supporting growth, and enhancing shareholder returns.
In November Hut 8 mined 94 Bitcoin at an average daily rate of 3.1 Bitcoin, an increase of 17% on the rate achieved during the previous month. The company reported operational progress for November 2024, achieving 21.0 EH/s and 967 MW under management, with a path to 35 EH/s.
CEO Asher Genoot highlighted efficiency gains from miner upgrades, R&D facility completion, and plans for the Vega site's Q2 2025 energization, targeting 24 EH/s self-mining hashrate and enhanced fleet efficiency of 15.7 j/TH.
Hut 8 sold 82 Bitcoin during the month adding 12 Bitcoin to its already impressive Hodl, taking the news total to 9,122 Bitcoin, valued at $884 million as at November 30, 2024.
IREN (IREN)
IREN produced 379 Bitcoin in November, at an average daily rate of 12.6 Bitcoin, a reduction of 10.8% on the rate achieved in October utilising an electricity cost at their Childress site of $0.0296 per kWh helping the company achieve a gross mining margin of 74% and helping the company get closer to producing Bitcoin at their target all-in-cost of $29,000.
On December 2, 2024 IREN increased its self-mining capacity by 33%, reaching 28 EH/s, with an operating efficiency of 15 j/TH, following the energization of its Childress Phase 3 substation. Completion is expected this month to achieve their target of 31 EH/s, with the company now focused on accelerating its expansion target to 50 EH/s and 810 MW by H1 2025, supported by ongoing construction at Childress Phases 4 & 5 and secured with the latest S21 Pro miners.
In their HPC AI business, NVIDIA H200 GPUs are currently undergoing testing, with liquid-cooling installations for Blackwell GPUs. Data center capacity reached 460MW, during the month, a 28% rise, with a target of 810MW by H1 2025 and a 1.4GW energization milestone scheduled for April 2026. IREN continues to prioritize scalable, innovative growth. IREN received $0.9 million in revenue from their AI Cloud Services business achieving a gross margin of 97%.
On December 6, 2024 IREN closed a $440 million offering of 3.25% convertible senior notes due 2030, upsized from $300 million to $400 million due to strong demand, with an additional $40 million greenshoe exercised. The net proceeds of $425.4 million will fund capped call transactions ($44.4 million), a prepaid forward transaction ($73.7 million), and general corporate purposes. The capped call transactions, with a $25.86 cap price (100% premium), aim to mitigate potential share dilution upon note conversion. This offering highlights IREN’s financial strategy to balance capital structure efficiency while supporting corporate growth and preserving shareholder value.
Riot Platforms (RIOT)
Riot produced 495 Bitcoin in November, at an average daily rate of 16.5 Bitcoin, an increase of 1.3% on the rate achieved during October. This was helped by an increase in the operational rate rising to 25.8 EH/s, despite a 7% rise in network difficulty. The company’s ongoing efforts include deploying new miners and enhancing operations to further boost hash rate utilization, underscoring the company’s commitment to maximizing efficiency and production in a challenging network environment.
Riot Platforms added the whole production to their treasury, increasing the Hodl to 11,425 Bitcoin with a value of $1.11 Billion as at November 30, 2024.
On December 10, 2024, Riot Platforms announced the pricing of a $525 million offering of 0.75% convertible senior notes due in 2030. These notes will be offered privately to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act. An option for initial purchasers to acquire an additional $75 million in notes is also available. The offering was increased from an earlier $500 million announcement and closed on December 11, 2024.
The unsecured notes will yield an annual interest rate of 0.75%, payable semiannually, convertible into cash or shares of Riot Platform’s common stock. The initial conversion price is set at approximately $14.86 per share, representing a 32.5% premium over recent trading prices. Riot anticipates using the proceeds for acquiring additional Bitcoin and other corporate purposes.
Soluna Holdings (SLNH)
On December 3, 2024, Soluna Holdings entered into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with San Francisco Compute Company (SF Compute) to support its development of a real-time compute trading platform for AI. Under this agreement, Soluna will provide an initial 80 Nvidia H100 GPUs, with potential scaling to 120 GPUs, leveraging its advanced AI cloud infrastructure. This marks a key milestone as SF Compute is the first customer from Soluna's partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) GreenLake.
The agreement includes a dedicated GPU cluster with a potential revenue of $2.466 million over one year, offering flexible usage models and customizable, secure solutions to meet SF Compute's needs. SF Compute plans to launch with the initial GPUs by the end of the week, enhancing its capacity for demanding AI workloads.
Soluna Holdings produced 13 Bitcoin in November, at an average daily rate of 0.4 Bitcoin, a reduction of 16% on the rate achieved in the previous month.
In terms of the projects, Soluna Holding is progressing, recent developments include two new customer deployments for Project Dorothy 1A & 1B, totaling 20 MW of upgraded equipment, enhancing hosting capabilities.
Project Dorothy 2, the civil work for substation interconnection is complete, with electrical tie-in scheduled for mid-January, while Modular Data Center and office construction is progressing.
Project Grace is currently focused on designing microgrid and cooling systems for behind-the-meter integration, whereas Project Sophie has been operating efficiently due to favorable fall temperatures. Lastly, Project Kati is advancing with Phase 1 of substation interconnection civil work underway, setting the stage for future expansion.
TeraWulf (WULF)
On November 21, 2024, TeraWulf promoted Sean Farrell to Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. CEO Paul Prager highlighted Farrell's leadership and commitment to operational excellence as key factors in his promotion. With over 13 years of energy sector experience, including roles at Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy, Farrell will focus on enhancing TeraWulf's high-performance computing and AI capabilities. He expressed enthusiasm for leading digital infrastructure operations and driving growth in the company.
The company mined 115 Bitcoins in November, at an average daily rate of 3.8 Bitcoin, a reduction of 20.8% on the rate achieved in October, while maintaining an operational self-mining capacity of 8.4 EH/s, reflecting a 68% year-over-year increase. The average power cost was recorded at $41,190 per Bitcoin, approximately $0.051/kWh, excluding additional revenue from demand response services.
Key upgrades included the replacement of older mining models with about 7,400 S21 Pro miners and enhancements to electrical infrastructure, despite a brief planned outage affecting 5.3 EH/s. COO Sean Farrell noted that these upgrades will enhance power reliability and support future growth.
TeraWulf's total operational Bitcoin mining capacity reached 195 MW, with expectations to increase to 9.7 EH/s post-repair and upgrades. Additionally, the company is progressing on its HPC hosting infrastructure, with 72.5 MW planned by mid-2025.
Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) metrics
Marathon Digital (MARA) had an extremely productive month topping literally every metric. In November, the company led the industry in productivity per hash rate, achieving 19.7 Bitcoin per EH/s, closely followed by Hut 8 (19.6), TeraWulf (19.5) and Hive Digital (19.4).
From a Year-to-date (YTD) average performance, Hive Digital moved to the top of the rankings, by the smallest of margins, in terms of production per EH/s, demonstrating its resilience and consistent performance. Bitfarms, IREN, TeraWulf and DMG Blockchain are narrowing the gap, with less than 1% separating the top five miners.
In terms of utilization, Marathon Digital reported the highest rate at 98%, followed by Hut 8 (98%), DMGI (95%), Gryphon Mining (94%) and CleanSpark (92%).
The Bitcoin mined per MW is used for assessing operational efficiency and resource utilization, Bit Digital achieved the highest Bitcoin production per MW with 0.93 Bitcoin per MW, followed by CleanSpark at 0.86, IREN 0.82, and Marathon Digital at 0.81.
