Highlights:
- Marathon and Riot produced record Bitcoin in October thanks to higher hashrates and new tech upgrades.
- Higher transaction fees in October helped Marathon earn an extra $400k in Bitcoin.
- Banning Bitcoin mining may raise emissions if miners move to areas with coal-based power.
Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms have reported their highest monthly production since the April halving. Marathon Digital produced 717 BTC in October which is 2% higher than in September. The company managed to achieve this production increase despite a small decline in block wins attributed to the increased network difficulty.
Advertisement
Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO, stated that this October production marked the highest at the firm after the halving event. Thiel attributed the increase to better uptime and Marathon gross hashrate, which was up 14% from September. Recently, the firm attained a hashrate of 40.2 EH/s, thus supporting its 50 EH/s target by the end of the year.
Bitcoin miners Marathon and Riot achieve record post-halving productionhttps://t.co/WzuMVmOohD pic.twitter.com/8u8G1HzQ8i
— ICN (@icnweb3media) November 5, 2024
Transaction Fees Boost Marathon’s Output
Higher transaction fees in October also contributed to Marathon’s production spike. These fees made up about 5% of the company’s total output. Thiel highlighted two large operations that produced fees of 3.217 BTC and 2.665 BTC.
He credited Marathon’s intellectual mining technology for capturing the additional fees. Marathon said that it can better capture additional revenue streams by leveraging its own technology.
Riot Platforms Reports a 23% Increase in Bitcoin Production
Riot Platforms also showed significant production growth in October, rising by 23% against September. The company generated 505 BTC, an increase from 412 BTC in September. This increase marks Riot’s highest post-halving production level. CEO Jason Les attributed the growth to a rise in Riot’s active hashrate, which reached 29.4 EH/s.
The Corsicana facility played a key role in this increase, deploying new MicroBT miners in October. Riot noted that these updates show positive operation progress, which Riot wants to maintain going forward.
Marathon and Riot are in the race to meet their set hashrates by the end of the year. Marathon intends to have a hashrate of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024, and Riot targets 34.9 EH/s by year-end. Riot also has a long-term goal to reach 100 EH/s by 2027.
Environmental Risks of Bitcoin Mining Bans
A new report published by Exponential Science reveals that banning Bitcoin mining may have major side effects on global emissions. According to the study, mining restrictions in low-emission regions may actually increase overall carbon emissions.
BITCOIN – “The mining ban could harm the environment,” claims a new paper
A recent research published by Exponential Science has examined the complex effects of bitcoin mining bans on global carbon emissions. The research highlights how mining bans may not always produce… pic.twitter.com/BjA7OFKZK3
— Atlas21 (@Atlas21_news) November 4, 2024
When governments ban Bitcoin mining, miners often relocate to areas with cheaper, fossil-fuel-dependent energy sources. This shift can result in “carbon leakage,” where emissions rise instead of falling due to reliance on higher-carbon energy grids.
Juan Ignacio Ibañez one of the authors of the report observes that while Bitcoin mining is energy-intensive, not all energy sources carry the same environmental burden. Using coal for mining releases more emissions into the atmosphere than employing renewable energy such as hydro or wind power.
The study also points out that an outright ban on mining in renewable-energy-rich areas could lead miners to rely on fossil-fuel-based electricity, thus increasing the carbon footprint of Bitcoin. Instead of imposing a ban, the report suggests that other nations looking at such a decision would be better off advocating for clean energy in mining.
Advertisement
