Bitcoin (BTC) mining profitability experienced a slight decline in July compared to the previous month, according to a recent report from investment bank Jefferies.
The analysis points to a drop in Bitcoin’s price as the primary factor impacting miners’ margins. As a result, the institution decided to lower the target price for the largest Bitcoin miner on Wall Street, Marathon Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA), by over 20%.
The cryptocurrency’s value fell by over 6% in July, while the network’s hashrate – a measure of computational power dedicated to mining – remained relatively stable. This combination of factors put pressure on mining operations, despite an increase in production share for US-listed companies.
Jefferies analysts noted that publicly traded mining firms expanded their collective output, capturing 21.1% of total Bitcoin production in July, up from 20.7% in June. This growth in market share was attributed to these companies bringing new capacity online at a faster rate than the overall network expansion.
Jefferies cutting its price target on Marathon to $17 seems like the only choice left to make.
— Joannie (@KatieHinto22878) August 16, 2024
Marathon Digital Holdings, a prominent player in the sector, stood out with a notable increase in production. The company mined 692 bitcoins in July, representing a 17% month-over-month rise. Marathon continues to lead the industry in terms of installed hashrate capacity.
Riot Platforms also significantly boosted its production by 45%, producing 370 BTC last month, which is 115 BTC more than the previous month. However, not all companies experienced such positive results. Argo Blockchain managed to produce only 48 tokens, marking a 63% decrease compared to June. The fact that the price of Bitcoin is currently 21% below its historical highs certainly doesn’t help the situation.
MARA Shares Approach Fair Value
Looking ahead, Jefferies anticipates more challenging conditions for miners in August. The bank’s report highlights a further 5% decline in Bitcoin’s price since the beginning of the month, coupled with renewed growth in network hashrate, which could squeeze profit margins even tighter.
In light of these developments, Jefferies has adjusted its outlook on Marathon Digital. The bank lowered its price target for the company’s stock from $22 to $17, while maintaining a “hold” rating.
Is Jefferies right? Time will tell. For now, Marathon Digital Holdings is taking steps to capitalize on lower Bitcoin prices by purchasing $249 million worth of BTC.
Fred Thiel, CEO, MARA, Source: LinkedIn
“We currently own and operate approximately 54% of the 1.1 gigawatts of power in our diversified portfolio of digital asset compute,” commented Fred Thiel, MARA’s Chairman and CEO. “We will continue making owned and operated sites a greater percentage of our fleet over time and expect to see cost savings on a cost per petahash basis as this occurs. Longer-term, our intention is to be amongst the lower cost operators in the industry.”
The evolving landscape of Bitcoin mining underscores the industry’s sensitivity to cryptocurrency price fluctuations and network dynamics. As the sector continues to mature, miners face the ongoing challenge of balancing operational costs with volatile market conditions.
The Q2 2024 results published by HIVE Digital Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE) and TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF) showed that Bitcoin miners are able to withstand negative market changes following the recent halving. HIVE increased its revenue by 37%, while WULF saw a 130% increase.
