– Increased Bitcoin production by 21% month-over-month, reaching a record 825 BTC in March 2023 and a record 2,195 BTC in Q1 2023
– Increased hash rate by 64% in Q1 2023 to 11.5 EH/s as of March 31, 2023
– Reported unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $124.9 million and increased unrestricted Bitcoin holdings to 11,466 BTC (approx. $326.5 million) as of March 31, 2023
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 3, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) (“Marathon” or “Company”)a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, today published unaudited bitcoin (“BTC”) production and mining installation updates for March 2023.
Management commentary
“During the first quarter of 2023, we made remarkable progress in the execution of our two main initiatives for the year, which are to energize our previously purchased mining rigs to reach our target of 23 exahash by the middle of this year and to optimize our performance so that that we are both more efficient and more effective,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s Chairman and CEO. “During the quarter, we increased our operational hash rate by 64% from 7.0 exahashes to 11.5 exahashes. We also observed improvements in the consistency of our hash rate, indicating that some of the technology upgrades we’ve implemented are starting to kick in. By improving our hash rate, we increased our bitcoin production by 41% from last quarter to a record 2,195 bitcoin in Q1 In March we produced a record 825 bitcoin, which is a 21% increase from the previous month.
“In addition to our operational progress, we also improved our financial position during the quarter. We reduced our debt by $50 million and increased our unlimited bitcoin holdings by 3,132 bitcoin after prepaying our loan and closing our credit facilities with Silvergate Bank. We exited the quarter with approximately $124.9 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and 11,466 bitcoins, whose market value was approximately $326.5 million on March 31.
“Given the operational and financial improvements we made during the first quarter, we remain optimistic that we can achieve our primary growth goals and establish Marathon as one of the largest and most energy efficient Bitcoin mining operations globally.”
Operational highlights and updates
Figure 1: Operational highlights
| Year-over-year comparison | Comparison of previous quarters | ||||||||
| Metric | Q1-2023 | Q1-2022 | %Δ | Q1-2023 | Q4-2022 | %Δ | |||
| BTC Produced | 2,195 | 1259 | 74 | % | 2,195 | 1,562 | 41 | % | |
| Avg. BTC Produced per day |
24.4 | 14.0 | 74 | % | 24.4 | 17.0 | 44 | % | |
| Operational/Energized Hash Rate (EH/s)1 | 11.5 | 3.9 | 195 | % | 11.5 | 7.0 | 64 | % | |
| Installed Hash Rate (EH/s)2 | 15.4 | NOW | NOW | 15.4 | 9.1 | 69 | % | ||
| 1. Defined as the amount of hash rate that could theoretically be generated if all mining servers that have been operational/enabled are currently operational (includes mining servers that are temporarily offline for maintenance or similar reasons). Hash rates are estimates based on manufacturers’ specifications. All numbers are rounded. | |||||||||
| 2. Defined as the sum of operational/energized hash rate (see above) and hash rate installed but not yet activated (eg mining servers are in containers but not activated). Hash rates are estimates based on manufacturers’ specifications. All numbers are rounded. | |||||||||
During the first quarter, Marathon increased its operational hash rate by 64% from 7.0 EH/s on January 1, 2023 to 11.5 EH/s as of March 31, 2023. In March, approximately 13,000 of Marathon’s previously installed Bitcoin miners (about 2.0) EH/s) were activated at Applied Digital’s facility in North Dakota. About 9,400 S19 XPs (about 1.3 EH/s) were activated in Ellendale, ND, and about 3,500 S19 XPs (about 0.5 EH/s) were activated in Jamestown, ND. As of April 1, 2023, Marathon’s operating fleet consisted of approximately 105,200 Bitcoin miners, theoretically capable of producing approximately 11.5 EH/s, according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
Once all of Marathon’s previously purchased miners are installed, approximately 66% of the company’s hash rate is expected to be generated by S19 XPs, which are approximately 30% more energy efficient than the previous generation of mining rigs. The company still expects to have approximately 23 EH/s of capacity installed near mid-2023.
Financial highlights and updates
Figure 2: Financial highlights
| Year-over-year comparison | Comparison of previous quarters | ||||||||
| Metric | Q1-2023 | Q1-2022 | %Δ | Q1-2023 | Q4-2022 | %Δ | |||
| Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash ($, in millions) | 124.9 | 118.5 | 5 | % | 124.9 | 112.5 | 11 | % | |
| Unlimited cash | 124.9 | 117.9 | 6 | % | 124.9 | 103.7 | 20 | % | |
| Limited cash | 0.0 | 0.6 | -100 | % | 0.0 | 8.8 | -100 | % | |
| Total BTC holdings (in whole numbers) | 11,466 | 9,374 | 22 | % | 11,466 | 12,232 | -6 | % | |
| Unlimited BTC holdings | 11,466 | 9,374 | 22 | % | 11,466 | 7,815 | 47 | % | |
| Limited BTC holdings | 0 | 0 | NOW | 0 | 4,417 | -100 | % | ||
As previously disclosed, Marathon repaid its term loan and terminated its credit facilities with Silvergate Bank in March. These actions reduced Marathon’s debt by $50 million and increased the company’s unlimited bitcoin holdings by 3,132 BTC.
As of April 1, Marathon has a total of 11,466 BTC, all of which are now unlimited. The company chose to sell 750 BTC during the month of March and intends to sell part of its bitcoin holdings in future periods to support monthly operations, manage the treasury or for general corporate purposes. The company ended the month with $124.9 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet.
In response to the closing of Signature Bank on March 12, Marathon redistributed its cash among various institutions and no longer has any deposits at Signature Bank.
Investor announcement
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 16 2022. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. If so, the value of our securities may decline and you may lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones we face. Additional risks that are not currently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial could also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to predict future performance. Future changes in network-wide mining difficulty or Bitcoin hashrate could also materially affect the future performance of Marathon’s bitcoin production. In addition, all discussions of financial calculations assume mining difficulty rates as of April 2023. See “Forward-Looking Statements” below.
Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan “, “should”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “continue” or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy, and some of which the Company may not even anticipate and involve factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or proposed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, which may be supplemented. or amended by the company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue as a result of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.
About Marathon Digital Holdings
Marathon is a digital asset technology company focused on supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem. The company is currently becoming one of the largest and most sustainably operated Bitcoin mining operations in North America.
Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact:
Phone: 800-804-1690
Email: [email protected]
