In June, Bitcoin miner Bitfarms increased its Bitcoin production by 21% month-on-month, mining 189 Bitcoins despite facing takeover attempts by rival Riot Platforms. Bitfarms sold 134 of those Bitcoins for $8.8 million, now holding 905 Bitcoins worth $57 million in its treasury.
Despite a 51% drop in production compared to June 2023 due to the recent halving event, Bitfarms boosted its installed hashrate to 11.4 exahashes per second (EH/s), with 10.4 EH/s operational. This marks a 96% increase year-on-year and a 39% rise month-on-month. The company remains on track to reach its 21 EH/s target by the end of 2024.
In 2024, Bitfarms focused on upgrading its mining fleet, installing around 39,000 new miners while unplugging an equal number of older, less-efficient ones. This move significantly improved its hashrate, energy efficiency, and gross mining margins.
Expanding its U.S. operations, Bitfarms opened a 120-megawatt site in Sharon, Pennsylvania, set to support an additional 8 EH/s once fully operational. However, its mining activities at the Paso Pe facility in Paraguay were hindered by severe weather in June, partially offset by a 0.8% decrease in network difficulty compared to May.
Meanwhile, Riot Platforms attempted a $950 million buyout of Bitfarms in mid-June but admitted defeat after being unable to negotiate with Bitfarms’ board. Riot managed to acquire a 14.9% stake in Bitfarms but failed to increase its share to 15% or more. Attempts to replace three Bitfarms board members were also unsuccessful, with Bitfarms adding its own board member to counter Riot’s takeover efforts.
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