Leading U.S.-based firms were competing hard to mine more Bitcoin BTC/USD, with many increasingly retaining the newly-created coins for long-term benefits.
What happened: American Bitcoin mining companies added nearly 16 ExaHash per second of mining capacity, or an 8% increase, from November-end up to Jan. 15, according to a JPMorgan research report released Thursday.
The total hash rate, or the computational power needed to validate transactions and mine new Bitcoins, has more than doubled to 238 EH/s year-over-year. With this, U.S. miners control over 30% of the global network hash rate, marking a 9% increase in market share since April's halving.
The growth was led by the world's biggest Bitcoin miner, MARA Holdings Inc. MARA, which saw a 7.1 EH/s increase in hash rate. CleanSpark Inc. CLSL ranked second on the list with an estimated 5.4 EH/s growth.
Interestingly, these two companies also mined the most Bitcoin in December, at 890 BTC and 668 BTC, respectively.
See Also: Italy’s Largest Bank Leaps Into Bitcoin Trading With $1 Million ‘Test’ Investment But CEO Says He Doesn’t Invest In BTC Personally
Many firms also reported a sharp increase in their Bitcoin holdings. MARA, which adopted a full HODL approach last year, saw its balance zoom by 28% to 44,893 BTC as of Jan. 15.
Riot Platforms Inc. RIOT, the second-largest Bitcoin miner by market capitalization, increased its HODL balance by 55% to 17,722 BTC. Cleanspark's BTC stash grew from 9,297 at the end of November to 10,000 as of Jan. 15.
Why It Matters: A rise in the hash rate is usually a good sign because it indicates growing competition among miners to safeguard the network.
The rush to mine and hoard more Bitcoin could also be a defensive tactic against potential financial pressure from high expenses.
The average cost to produce one Bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $106,000, according to a report by leading investment firm CoinShares. The prevailing price of one Bitcoin, meanwhile, was $101,981.38.
Additionally, President-elect Donald Trump’s apparent support for the industry may be encouraging miners to run their machines at full capacity. During his election campaign, Trump said he wanted the U.S. to become the world’s Bitcoin mining capital.
Price Action: Shares of MARA Holdings closed 0.83% higher at $18.30 during Thursday’s regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF, which provides exposure to top Bitcoin mining companies, rose 0.04% to 24.58.
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